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:
When Lu isn’t “wreaking havoc on the dinner table,” you can find her “screaming at her reflection in the mirror,” the contest website said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
A delicious word salad: How many words can you create with the letters Y, B, O, F, U, and N?
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
She also suggests contacting Vinted's legal team and making a subject access request, or SAR, which can give users access to information about how a decision affecting their account was made.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Anyone who reads Max Fisher’s outstanding book “The Chaos Machine” can make up their own mind.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
They have to know if he's angry or just joking, if his orders are reasonable, or if his judgment can be trusted.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
“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
Asked if his team can continue to climb, Vonnahme said, “I think we can. But most importantly, we have to try. Everybody wants us to continue to elevate.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"You try to offer support as much as you can. You want to be close to those who are suffering. You notice a lot of sadness and despair."
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
It reads: “It’s like an AP honors U.S. history book packed onto a can. Not a tiny Euro can… an American-size 16oz can!”
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
“But you can. And you will. Because you must.”
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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
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
Can., 56., says that by the canon law, he that is archipresbyter is also called dean.
From Notes and Queries, Number 231, April 1, 1854 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by George Bell
She also is set to be featured on limited-edition cans of Mug Root Beer, which is a sponsor of the contest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
He had already collected two cans of corn "lightly covered with soil" from another location, telling investigators he had no idea what was inside.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Walk into most grocery stores or gyms, and you’ll find a wall of sleek cans with the caffeine of roughly three espresso shots, zero sugar and sans-serif pledges to accelerate metabolism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Fellow tourist Vladislav, who arrived by road from the Russian region of Krasnodar, said he had brought jerry cans filled with petrol in case he was unable to find fuel.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Some of the shelves held things like bottled water and baby diapers and cans of food, but a lot more of the shelves were empty.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Shaw said that if anyone questioned the district’s management of its policy, the matter could have been brought directly to district officials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Surely there’s something the press corps could do about this?
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
These tensions shaped Doley's belief that conservation could not be separated from the rights of local communities.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Meta executives have denied that they did everything they could to make Facebook and Instagram addictive, or that they have tried to get consumers to spend as much time on the sites as possible.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
She looks to be in her late seventies, but could easily be older.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Marsh described Scatchard as "devious, cunning and untruthful".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 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
In the aughts, Chase also appeared in more than 20 episodes of the Fox sitcom “Oliver Beene” and over 30 episodes of HBO’s Emmy-nominated Mormon family drama “Big Love” as cunning teenager Rhonda Volmer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
"King George, as you know, never set foot in America. And please rest assured, ladies and gentlemen, I am not here as part of some cunning rearguard action."
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
It was like the intolerable, tingling sweetness of water-glasses when played on by a cunning hand.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Keep foods like dried and canned beans, canned tomatoes, tinned fish, olive oil, and a variety of whole grains on hand so you always have something to cook with.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
"This isn't just a brand campaign for a new sparkling canned drink. It's the people who are supposed to be running the country," wrote The Times's social media editor, Esme Hewitt.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Gruel notes that home cooks can use another kind of fish, even canned fish — useful, flexible advice that is also so broad as to become generic.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
We had one event in a fraternity house backyard in Virginia, we had events in Mexico City and Montreal … canned food drives, blood drives or, you know, register to vote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
My mind flooded quickly with the tastes and smells of food I had not eaten for the past month: canned meat, beans, crackers, soup, cookies.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
Although these parasites had been killed during the canning process and would not harm consumers, they hold valuable scientific information.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 1, 2026
Short remembered how Beckstrom loved cooking, baking and gardening, canning hot peppers, and eating deviled eggs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 29, 2025
I grew up on the produce she grew all year round, thanks to her canning.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2025
Like many canners, Dash relies on canning to make ends meet, but it is not his only income.
From Slate ● Nov. 27, 2024
Sweet-smelling peaches simmered on the stove in one huge pot while canning jars bubbled away in another pot.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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.
