jerry can

American

[jer-ee kan] / ˈdʒɛr i ˌkæn /

Or jerrycan,

noun

Also called blitz can. Military. a narrow, flat-sided, 5-gallon (19-liter) container for fluids, as fuel.
British. a can with a capacity of 4½ imperial gallons (5.4 U.S. gallons or 20.4 liters).

jerry can British

noun

a flat-sided can with a capacity of between 4.5 and 5 gallons used for storing or transporting liquids, esp motor fuel: originally a German design adopted by the British Army during World War II

"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

Etymology

Origin of jerry can

1940–45; apparently Jerry “German”; the British supposedly manufactured the can after a German prototype

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023