can
auxiliary verb
to be able to; have the ability, power, or skill to.
can
1 American
[kan, kuhn]
/ kæn, kən /
auxiliary verb
-
can,
present (3rd person singular)
-
could
past
-
to be able to; have the ability, power, or skill to.
She can solve the problem easily, I'm sure.
-
to know how to.
He can play chess, although he's not particularly good at it.
-
to have the power or means to.
A dictator can impose his will on the people.
-
to have the right or qualifications to.
He can change whatever he wishes in the script.
-
may; have permission to.
Can I speak to you for a moment?
-
to have the possibility.
A coin can land on either side.
verb (used with or without object)
-
can,
present (3rd person singular)
-
could,
past, past participle
-
cunning
present participle
can
2
American
[kan]
/ kæn /
noun
-
cans
plural
-
a sealed container for food, beverages, etc., as of aluminum, sheet iron coated with tin, or other metal.
a can of soup.
-
a receptacle for garbage, ashes, etc..
a trash can.
-
a bucket, pail, or other container for holding or carrying liquids.
water can.
-
a drinking cup; tankard.
-
a metal or plastic container for holding film on cores or reels.
-
Slang. jail.
He's been in the can for a week.
-
Slang: Sometimes Vulgar. buttocks.
-
Slang. cans, a set of headphones designed to cover the ears.
-
Military Slang.
-
a depth charge.
-
a destroyer.
-
verb (used with object)
canned,
canning
-
to preserve by sealing in a can, jar, etc.
-
Slang. to dismiss; fire.
-
Slang. to throw (something) away.
-
Slang. to put a stop to.
Can that noise!
-
to record, as on film or tape.
idioms
-
carry the can, to take the responsibility.
-
in the can, recorded on film; completed.
The movie is in the can and ready for release.
can.
3
American
abbreviation
-
canceled.
-
canon.
-
canto.
Can.
4
American
abbreviation
-
Canada.
-
Canadian.
can
1
British
/ kæn /
noun
-
a container, esp for liquids, usually of thin sheet metal
a petrol can
beer can
-
another name (esp US) for tin
-
Also called: canful. the contents of a can or the amount a can will hold
-
a slang word for prison
-
a slang word for toilet or buttocks See toilet
-
navy a slang word for destroyer
-
slang navy a depth charge
-
a shallow cylindrical metal container of varying size used for storing and handling film
-
informal a complicated problem
-
See carry
-
-
(of a film, piece of music, etc) having been recorded, processed, edited, etc
-
informal arranged or agreed
the contract is almost in the can
-
verb
-
to put (food, etc) into a can or cans; preserve in a can
-
slang (tr) to dismiss from a job
-
informal (tr) to stop (doing something annoying or making an annoying noise) (esp in the phrase can it! )
-
informal (tr) to reject or discard
can
2
British
/ kæn, kən /
verb
-
used as an auxiliary to indicate ability, skill, or fitness to perform a task
I can run a mile in under four minutes
-
used as an auxiliary to indicate permission or the right to something
can I have a drink?
-
used as an auxiliary to indicate knowledge of how to do something
he can speak three languages fluently
-
used as an auxiliary to indicate the possibility, opportunity, or likelihood
my trainer says I can win the race if I really work hard
Can.
3
British
abbreviation
-
Canada
-
Canadian
can
More Idioms
Usage
Can but and cannot but are formal and now somewhat old-fashioned expressions suggesting that there is no possible alternative to doing something. Can but is equivalent to can only: We can but do our best. Cannot but is the equivalent of cannot help but: We cannot but protest against these injustices. See also help.
Commonly Confused
Can1 and may1 are frequently but not always interchangeable in senses indicating possibility: A power failure can (or may ) occur at any time. Despite the insistence by some, that can means only “to be able” and may means “to be permitted,” both are regularly used in seeking or granting permission: Can (or May ) I borrow your glue gun? You can (or may ) use it tomorrow. Sentences using can occur chiefly in spoken English. May in this sense occurs more frequently in formal contexts: May I address the court, Your Honor? In negative constructions, can't or cannot is more common than may not : You can't have it today. I need it myself. The contraction mayn't is rare.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cansimple
-
have couldperfect
-
has couldperfect
-
am cunningprogressive
-
are cunningprogressive
-
is cunningprogressive
-
have been cunningperfect progressive
-
has been cunningperfect progressive
Past
-
couldsimple
-
had couldperfect
-
was cunningprogressive
-
were cunningprogressive
-
had been cunningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of can1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English, present indicative singular 1st, 3rd person of cunnan “to know, know how”; cognate with German, Old Norse, Gothic kann; see ken, know 1
Origin of can2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English canne, can(e), Old English canne, cognate with German Kanne, Old Norse kanna, all perhaps from West Germanic; compare Late Latin canna “small vessel”
Explanation
A can is a metal container, usually cylindrical in shape, which has an airtight seal when it's new. All kinds of goods come in cans, from fruit and vegetables to paint and oil. The verb can means to preserve food in a can or glass jar. If your garden produces more tomatoes than you can possibly eat, you might make salsa and can it to eat all winter long. Can is also a slang word with several meanings. It means rear end, toilet, and it also means to fire someone: "Watch out, the boss canned three people yesterday! You could be next."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Trent apparently can hit a 5 iron 200 yards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Dubois is the world champion and favourite going in, but can Wardley find the power to keep Dubois down this time?
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
"During my time as Pakistan's central bank governor, I saw firsthand how difficult it can be for countries to balance the needs of the countries' citizens with the needs of the IMF programme," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Here we can see Swansea in a positional 3-1-6 shape against Lincoln's zonal defence.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
She can tilt and rotate it in any direction exactly as if she were holding it in her hand.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
"We try to help the Ukrainians where we best can. We also have active conversation channels with American negotiators," he added.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
"They've been really flexible with me, letting me work when I can. They've been really good with me," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
“We need to get sick people out of their communities as fast as we can. We are doing our best to work with local leaders; otherwise, they will continue infecting others,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
“We’re all comrades in this. I feel so good to be here and help however I can. Many of us don’t have that luxury.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
“I do not think I can. What kind of cuento was that?”
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
When the apartment finally went quiet, I opened my Notes app and typed: “You. Can. Have. It. All.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
Max Dufour Montreal, Can., backside 360 kickflip tail grab to fakie 3.
From Time Magazine Archive
Those of British Columbia, Can., gave the Provincial franchise but had not the power to give it for Dominion elections.
From The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume V by Ida Husted Harper
Salt-marshes and shores, Can. to Ga.—Var. elòdes, Gray, slender, often low and simple; leaves thickish, long, narrowly linear, entire, the uppermost small and bract-like; scales narrow, with short and mostly spreading acutish tips.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Asa Gray
If, however, there is soreness of the throat, redness and soreness of the tonsils, palate, and fauces, or soreness of the larynx, with hoarseness, Arum triphyllum and Hydrastus Can. are the surest remedies.
From An Epitome of the Homeopathic Healing Art Containing the New Discoveries and Improvements to the Present Time by B. L. (Benjamin L.) Hill
The remaining residents live off vegetables they grow in their gardens, soups of boiled weeds and cans of food they scavenge from bombed-out, abandoned homes around this city.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
Bottles of oil, packets of salt and a few tin cans lie among the debris.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Alongside scenes that feature car wheels, sports jerseys and horse racing, he’s created rich still lifes with Hispanic household staples like Goya cans, Coco Rico soda and bottles of Fabuloso.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
He’s most famous for taking cylindrical soup cans and making them flat, but he also saw celebrity culture coming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
It was like a separate little town sitting right on the harbor—different docks, warehouses for fish and cargo, a salmon cannery where fish were cut up and packed into cans.
From "I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964" by Lauren Tarshis
Redick said he was “still open to both” when asked if he could start Grimes and stagger his time with the starters on the bench.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Assessments before the move "informed our planning but could not reveal every underlying condition or predict how each whale would respond to the transition. The rescue offered a path to continued, specialised care".
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Protest organiser Nacpil questioned in an interview how one could draw a line between who deserves a subsidy and who does not.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
The worst damage was in the facilities division, where about half the servers were encrypted — meaning that district staff could not access their own systems and records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
She looks to be in her late seventies, but could easily be older.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
"It was very cunning of her to hold her press conference" the day before, said a second European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Further down, a picture of Rowan Atkinson in full Blackadder garb catches the eye as the paper reveals "A cunning plan" to revive the classic 1980s historical comedy as a live show.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Shenanigan and her crew must use all their wit, nerve and cunning they possess to discover a killer in a world where everyone, it seems, is running her own con.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
He is cunning, not intelligent — something he unwittingly proves every time he claims that passing a basic mental competency test shows his brilliance.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
So they sent Odysseus, the master of crafty cunning, to get them by trickery.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Processing tomatoes — those used in products such as canned diced tomatoes and ketchup — are also fetching lower prices than they did a few years ago.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
He’s a partial owner of the canned yerba mate brand Mateina, but he “loves it without bias.”
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
It wants us to stockpile canned food and drinking water, strengthen our civic resilience, and plan for the possibility of war.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Soybean oil appears in salad dressings, mayonnaise, baked goods, infant formula, snacks and fried foods; soy lecithin emulsifies chocolate and bread; and soy protein fortifies energy bars, breakfast cereals and canned soup.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
He slid to the ground between a huge bag of rice and shelves packed with canned goods and spices.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Meanwhile, Bumble Bee Foods plans to lay off 197 workers on Nov. 19 and estimates that it will lay off another 36 workers when the fish canning facility finally closes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
While the canning process preserved the outer structure of the worms, it destroyed the internal features scientists would need to identify specific species.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 1, 2026
Staff working at a Guinness canning factory in Belfast, owned by international drinks firm Diageo, have begun strike action in protest over their pay.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025
Short remembered how Beckstrom loved cooking, baking and gardening, canning hot peppers, and eating deviled eggs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 29, 2025
Had she slept in that room with those canning jars?
From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor
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