Caen

American

[kahn, kahn] / kɑn, kɑ̃ /

noun

a city and the capital of Calvados, in NW France, SW of Le Havre: many Norman buildings destroyed 1944.

Caen British

/ kɑ̃, kɒŋ /

noun

an industrial city in NW France. Pop: 113 987 (1999)

"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

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.

Distillation has been around in some shape or form for a long time, according to Christopher Caen, CEO of Mill Pond Research.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 28, 2026

France, beaten finalists last year, are on the back foot ahead of Tuesday's second leg at home in Caen after Bruhl's decisive intervention in the 79th minute.

From Barron's • Oct. 24, 2025

That’s why the infamous newspaper columnist Herb Caen dubbed it “Baghdad by the Bay” more than 80 years ago, when the town had already fully embraced its outsider status.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2025

Lamb said she had a special resolve to help drive the Nazis out of France, particularly the centers of art and culture like Caen and Bayeux, where she had studied before the war.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 6, 2024

The Allies have taken Bayeux, a village on the coast of France, and are now fighting for Caen.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023