container
Americannoun
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an object used for or capable of holding, esp for transport or storage, such as a carton, box, etc
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a large cargo-carrying standard-sized container that can be loaded from one mode of transport to another
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( as modifier )
a container port
a container ship
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of container
1400–50 for an earlier sense; 1495–1505 container for def. 1; late Middle English conteiner; see contain, -er 1
Explanation
A container holds things inside it. Bags, boxes, buckets, and pockets are all containers. The purpose of a container is to carry, hold, or store something. You might buy nuts at the grocery store, then bring them home and put them in a container, or you could put your leftover pasta in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for tomorrow's lunch. The thing all containers have in common is that they contain, or hold, things. Both words are rooted in the Latin continere, "to hold together or enclose."
Vocabulary lists containing container
"Earth and Space"
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"Introduction to Homeland Security," Vocabulary from Chapter 6
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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.
See Examples For:
Cool and store: Let the syrup cool, then transfer it to a jar with a lid or a deli container.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Carriers fit two to four vehicles inside a container, which is lifted by crane onto a ship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Some of these attacks have resulted in marine pollution, including the sinking of container ship Safeen Prestige on 4 March following an attack near Oman.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The container then ferried him to a smaller C-32A aircraft that flew him to Britain, while media and some officials were led to believe Trump was still on the bigger jet.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Nancy opened the freezer and pulled out the ice-cream container.
From "Scream for Ice Cream: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #2" by Carolyn Keene
Some automakers are so desperate to get vehicles to Europe, Australia and Latin America they are squeezing them inside shipping containers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
But he then reportedly quickly left the plane, stepping inside one of the cargo containers, to board a smaller US Air Force aircraft positioned nearby.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Call it social justice or activism or whatever, those are just containers for the actual daily work that we do to survive and thrive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The ostrich eggshells were probably used as containers for carrying or storing water.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
It was so nasty crawling around underneath that dumpster picking up tomatoes, ketchup packets,dipping-sauce containers, and half-eaten baked potatoes and chicken tenders, but it was so much fun.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
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.
