canister
Americannoun
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canisters
plural
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a small box or jar, often one of a kitchen set, for holding tea, coffee, flour, and sugar.
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Also called canister shot. case shot.
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the part of a gas mask containing the neutralizing substances through which poisoned air is filtered.
noun
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a container, usually made of metal, in which dry food, such as tea or coffee, is stored
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a type of shrapnel shell for firing from a cannon
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Also called: canister shot. case shot. the shot or shrapnel packed inside this
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of canister
1670–80; < Latin canistrum wicker basket < Greek kánastron, derivative of kánna reed ( see cane), with -astron, variant of -tron suffix of instrument (probably from verbal derivatives, as stégastron covering, from stegázein to cover)
Explanation
A canister is a small container with a lid, often made of metal. You might keep a canister of sugar in your kitchen next to a canister of tea. Typically, a canister is round and has a fitted lid — while kitchen canisters are usually metal, the canisters that hold a roll of camera film are made of plastic. Another type of canister is a cylinder that's packed with shot or filled with pressurized gas and shot out of a weapon. In the 15th century, the word meant "basket," from the Latin canistrum, "wicker basket," with its Greek root kanystron, "basket made of reeds." The meaning of canister probably changed to "metal container" because of the word can.
Vocabulary lists containing canister
"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 4
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Chapter 4, Sections 1–4
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Phineas L. MacGuire...Erupts!
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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:
On the window ledge sit the manly accoutrements of shaving: a Barbasol aerosol canister and a safety razor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
At one training company visited by AFP, humans holding what looked like PlayStation controllers repeated a single task -- folding clothes, moving blocks, spraying a canister -- as humanoid partners mirrored their actions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The kids, meanwhile, took selfies, while one appeared to be holding a red canister.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
"Officers swiftly attended the scene and found that a gas canister on the site had ignited and subsequently exploded," the spokesperson said.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026
She put Edward on the counter and leaned him up against the flour canister and arranged his dress around his knees.
From "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" by Kate DiCamillo
Residents who find discarded canisters are advised to take them to a Household Waste Recycling Centre for safe disposal.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Prosecutors say Diaz was seen leaving and returning to the warehouse with two gas canisters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
The canisters will be lowered into holes drilled in the tunnels, before the holes are filled with bentonite clay to seal them, Parviainen explained.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
Some dusted off old camping stoves and refilled oil canisters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
He ordered a protective shielding of metal canisters filled with water erected around the machine to sap the neutrons of their destructive energy.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
