canister

[ kan-uh-ster ]

/ ˈkæn ə stər /

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See synonyms for canister on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small box or jar, often one of a kitchen set, for holding tea, coffee, flour, and sugar.

Also called canister shot . case shot.

the part of a gas mask containing the neutralizing substances through which poisoned air is filtered.

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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)

Words nearby canister

canines, canine tooth, caning, Canis Major, Canis Minor, canister, canker, cankered, cankerous, cankerroot, canker sore

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use canister in a sentence

As law enforcement moved protesters off the Capitol steps with flash bangs and canisters that released irritants, several demonstrators charged the officers.
Woman dies after shooting in U.S. Capitol; D.C. National Guard activated after mob breaches building|Washington Post Staff|January 7, 2021|Washington Post
Amazon’s latest Echo looks markedly different—like an oversize shot put rather than the canister design of its predecessor.
Here’s what Amazon’s new Echo speakers are like|jonathanvanian2015|October 22, 2020|Fortune
Lindsay Krall, a geochemist who researches nuclear waste burial at Stanford University, worries that the company’s canisters wouldn’t be buried deep enough to prevent waste from leaking into the biosphere.
Finding homes for the waste that will (probably) outlive humanity|Katie McLean|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review
In January 2019, Deep Isolation proved that canisters could not only be sent underground but also retrieved, should the DOE manage to create a permanent repository elsewhere at some later point and want to transfer material there.
Finding homes for the waste that will (probably) outlive humanity|Katie McLean|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review

The waste would be stored in canisters, which would make it easy to retrieve and move once a permanent repository is finally decided upon.
Finding homes for the waste that will (probably) outlive humanity|Katie McLean|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review
On another, Garrison said he handed a doctor a bottle of wine in a canister packed with $100 bills.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’|The Center for Investigative Reporting|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The idea is fairly simple: take a sealed metal canister and fill it with radio waves, which are a low-energy form of light.
Dear NASA: Fuel-Free Rocket Thruster Is Literally Too Good to Be True|Matthew R. Francis|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We were filming the ceasefire line when some jerk threw a teargas canister in the air.
How Jehane Noujaim Made The Year’s Most Dangerous Documentary ‘The Square’|Andrew Romano|February 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When they got a clear shot, they fired a teargas canister directly at his upper body.
Bahrain’s Lethal Teargas War|Paul Adrian Raymond|January 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or Mustafa Tamimi, who died when a soldier shot a tear gas canister directly at his face from only a few yards' distance.
Beinart and Shenhav Debate One State Versus Two|Lisa Goldman|September 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The reveillée of the sleeping Mexicans was the discharge of our two field-pieces loaded with canister.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
This time they were not met by the cavalrymen alone, but the cannon belched forth its deadly charge of canister in their faces.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
Quick as thought, the two cannon were run forward and a storm of canister swept the bushes.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
The gunners at the batteries were quick to respond, and sent grape and canister across the stream.
The Boys of '61|Charles Carleton Coffin.
Birney wheeled his batteries into position, and opened with canister, and the Rebels fled to the shelter of the woods.
The Boys of '61|Charles Carleton Coffin.

British Dictionary definitions for canister

canister

/ (ˈkænɪstə) /

noun

a container, usually made of metal, in which dry food, such as tea or coffee, is stored

(formerly)

a type of shrapnel shell for firing from a cannon
Also called: canister shot, case shot the shot or shrapnel packed inside this

Word Origin for canister

C17: from Latin canistrum basket woven from reeds, from Greek kanastron, from kanna reed, cane 1

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

canister

Origin of canister

Words nearby canister

Words related to canister

How to use canister in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for canister

Word Origin for canister