container
Americannoun
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an object used for or capable of holding, esp for transport or storage, such as a carton, box, etc
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a large cargo-carrying standard-sized container that can be loaded from one mode of transport to another
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( as modifier )
a container port
a container ship
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of container
1400–50 for an earlier sense; 1495–1505 container for def. 1; late Middle English conteiner; see contain, -er 1
Explanation
A container holds things inside it. Bags, boxes, buckets, and pockets are all containers. The purpose of a container is to carry, hold, or store something. You might buy nuts at the grocery store, then bring them home and put them in a container, or you could put your leftover pasta in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for tomorrow's lunch. The thing all containers have in common is that they contain, or hold, things. Both words are rooted in the Latin continere, "to hold together or enclose."
Vocabulary lists containing container
"Earth and Space"
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"Introduction to Homeland Security," Vocabulary from Chapter 6
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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:
Videos posted on social media last week show cranes at the Port of Shahid Rajaee, Iran’s largest commercial container port, at a standstill.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific handles around 40 percent of US container traffic.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
He added that California law requires people carrying handguns into and out of the store to keep them in a locked container and for handguns and long guns to be unloaded.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Inside a shipping container beside the field, the engineers highlight on a computer the area they want the aircraft to spray.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
I clear my throat and reach out, carefully sliding the container from her spindly fingers.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
The fire department said the helicopter went down between two commercial buildings, damaging four vehicles and two containers.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
It provided its proprietary plant varieties to farmers, who would plant and harvest strawberries, blueberries and other fruits sold in Driscoll’s clamshell containers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
The plan is to resume firefighting efforts, first from the cargo hold of the ferry, which is the compartment where containers and or goods are stored, Cayabyab said.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
It’s distilled and matured in the Canadian province of Manitoba, but then shipped in large containers to bottling facilities in the U.S. for distribution to American customers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
I was sitting in the passenger seat, two glass containers on my lap.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
