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
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
A manual can opener is a must for accessing canned goods, while a hand-crank food processor can help with basic meal prep.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2024
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
The only two cans of sardines had no keys and the owner stared at the floor, nodding no when 1 asked if he had a can opener.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
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
Thankfully, our own can of baked beans has one of those new-fangled rings pulls on the top, and doesn’t require the dreaded can-opener to be clumsily clamped over the metal lip.
From Time ● Jun. 15, 2016
But inexplicably - well, maybe not, he’s a young man - Alli tries to play a can-opener of a pass down the middle for Kane.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 16, 2016
The situation was tense and the irate owner looked from one to another of our solemn countenances, trying to solve the riddle of the lost can-opener.
From Vacation with the Tucker Twins by Nell Speed
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