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:
Also, the Middle East conflict should delay pace of full-scale resumption of Suez Canal, potentially supporting container freight rates and the port manager’s pricing power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
My inbox is now chock full of cyber-security companies and experts criticising OpenAI for not building a stronger container to test its AI, known as a sandbox.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Images show the crane on its side and leaning on to part of a container vessel.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
On Sunday, the U.S. military struck Iranian targets in multiple waves after a container ship was hit by a suspected Iranian missile in the Strait of Hormuz, the Associated Press reported.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
"He came by boat, in a shipping container."
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Participants who recycled, used reusable cups and containers, took public transportation, ate greener diets, or cycled to work were no less likely to support wider climate policies and collective action.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
One of the FDA’s concerns is that the agency doesn’t have any information about the containers that would be used by compounding pharmacies to dispense the medication.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Over the next four decades, the store became the country’s largest international supermarket chain, known for its kaleidoscopic pantry aisles, frozen seafood and neatly packed containers of banchan.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
Transported in specialised cold-water containers by truck and plane, the animals were accompanied throughout the journey by marine mammal veterinarians.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
She takes one of the gel containers lying on the floor and uses it to re-coil a few of the twists on my head.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
