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C rations

British  

plural noun

  1. tinned food formerly issued in packs to US soldiers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of C rations

C20: C(ombat) rations

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:

Wartime museums display the bland hardtack that sustained Civil War fighters, and the canned meats, breads and fruit of World War II, known as C rations.

From New York Times Jun. 8, 2021

Soldiers with bayonets patrolled streets or baby-sat with begrimed children who had to be wheedled out of tears with jokes and C rations.

From Time Magazine Archive

The feast, which some troops washed down with pungent Algerian wine liberated from the Cubans, even had a trickle-down effect for 100 local schoolchildren: they received C rations donated by U.S. soldiers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Troops manning the guardposts must skimp along on only four or five hours of sleep a night, live on C rations and accustom themselves to an eerie and tense life during their temporary duty.

From Time Magazine Archive

He opened up a can of C rations, pork and beans, but the baby buffalo wasn’t interested.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

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