adjective
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preserved and stored in airtight cans or tins
canned meat
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informal prepared or recorded in advance; artificial; not spontaneous
canned music
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a slang word for drunk
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of canned
Explanation
Anything canned is stored in a jar or can. It’s usually food, but prerecorded music is also canned. And, if you get fired from a job, you’ve been canned. Don’t cry, though, it’s better than being stuck in a jar. When someone talks about "canned goods," they mean all the food you can buy that comes in a can, like canned green beans and canned pineapple. Home-preserved food is also canned, even if it's in a glass jar. This adjective takes on a derogatory slant when it describes music that's recorded rather than played live, or an answer that sounds prepared rather than real.
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.
The agreement will lower tariffs on more products, and give duty-free access to pasta, chocolate, potatoes, canned peaches, eggs and certain poultry products.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
My supermarket frequently runs 10-for-$10 deals on canned goods, which is essentially my signal to replenish the pantry backbone: black beans, chickpeas, navy beans, diced tomatoes.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
The Margherita pizza calls for a simple sauce—uncooked and made from quality canned tomatoes blended up with a bit of salt.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
“We grew up with not a lot of means,” he said, recalling his mother’s magical ability “to whip up a whole meal with just canned tuna or cheese sandwiches.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
It was all canned stuff, of course, or dried.
From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien
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.
