jerry can

American  

[jer-ee kan] / ˈdʒɛr i ˌkæn /

Or jerrycan,

noun

1. Also called blitz can.  Military. a narrow, flat-sided, 5-gallon (19-liter) container for fluids, as fuel.

2. British. a can with a capacity of 4½ imperial gallons (5.4 U.S. gallons or 20.4 liters).

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jerry can British  

noun

1. 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

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Etymology

Origin of jerry can

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

Example Sentences

Left behind on the street outside the Louvre was the truck, a jerry can, a blowtorch, angle grinders, a walkie-talkie and yellow vests.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

Some firewood, rugs, woven mats, rolled-up clothing or sheets, a dark green plastic tub, and an oversized plastic jerry can were lashed to the bed of the cart.

From Salon • Nov. 16, 2020

In some areas of central Somalia, a 20-liter jerry can of water, about 5 ¼ gallons, used to cost 4 cents.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 27, 2017

The third uses a cut-off jerry can to bale water from the hull of the leaky wooden canoe.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2015

Behind her, one of the firemen placed the charred remnants of the jerry can into the truck—to send to the insurance company, she had no doubt.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng