container

[kuhn-tey-ner]

noun

1. anything that contains or can contain something, as a carton, box, crate, or can.

2. a large, vanlike, reuseable box for consolidating smaller crates or cartons into a single shipment, designed for easy and fast loading and unloading of freight.

container

/ kənˈteɪnə /

noun

1. an object used for or capable of holding, esp for transport or storage, such as a carton, box, etc

2. 1. a large cargo-carrying standard-sized container that can be loaded from one mode of transport to another

   2. ( as modifier )

      a container port

      a container ship

Word History and Origins

Origin of container¹

1400–50 for an earlier sense; 1495–1505 container for def. 1; late Middle English conteiner; contain, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Back in Japan, a cyber-attack paralysed operations at a container terminal in the city of Nagoya for three days in 2024.

Read more on BBC

These mosquitoes are highly adapted to urban environments and breed in small containers of stagnant water commonly found around homes, such as flower pots, discarded tires, and buckets.

Read more on Science Daily

The cost to send a container across the Pacific fell roughly 10% from last week to $1,460, the lowest since July 2023 while the price for a box from Asia to the U.S.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Vat photopolymerization is a type of 3D printing that involves pouring a light-reactive liquid resin into a container and then solidifying specific areas with a laser or ultraviolet light to create a shape.

Read more on Science Daily

Plastic food containers and trays are stacked and wired with lights, feeling at once like retro-futuristic inventions and something cobbled together after the apocalypse.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bag 
• bottle 
• bowl 
• box 
• bucket 
• can 
• canister 
• capsule 
• carton 
• crate 
• dish 
• jar 
• jug 
• kettle 
• package 
• packet 
• pail 
• pot 
• pouch 
• sack