can opener
noun
a manual device or small electric appliance for opening cans.
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can opener
Americannoun
-
can openers
plural
can-opener
British
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of can opener
First recorded in 1865–70
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.
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Corrections & Amplifications An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Ally Walsh doesn’t have a can opener.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
For the home cooks: OXO is best known for revolutionizing the salad spinner, but it has also redesigned the garlic press, the can opener, the vegetable peeler … the list goes on.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
One character, for reasons you’ll observe, wordlessly switches from soup cans that require them to use a can opener to ones with a pull tab.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2025
Pack protein bars, dried meats such as chicken jerky, dried fruits, nuts and canned goods with a manual can opener.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
I went into a store and bought a can of pork and beans and a can opener.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
The can-opener now is access to locked doors of knowledge and services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2025
It does not, sadly, demolish the can-opener theory.
From Slate ● Dec. 7, 2018
Still, at least the thing exists — in a weird quirk of history, the can-opener wasn’t invented until 1870, a lengthy 48 years after the can itself.
From Time ● Jun. 15, 2016
Keegan had gone, but no matter: Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish had arrived, the former setting up the latter for a can-opener of a winner.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 3, 2015
We all of us could recall with the keenest delight the memorable evening when Zebedee undertook to open the sardines at a beach party we were having and his scornful remarks anent our can-opener.
From Vacation with the Tucker Twins by Nell Speed
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