tin can
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tin can
An Americanism dating back to 1760–70
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.
Residents have responded in kind, posting a picture of a tin can phone to signal their slide back to the pre-digital age.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
Movies to be watched on planes, making bearable the three or nine hours spent in a tin can, squashed on all sides, munching tiny pretzels and trying not to order yet another gin and tonic.
From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2024
Every day is harder than the last, a Gazan woman reports through a tin can transmitter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2023
To imagine why these issues arise, picture yourself in a tin can with a small crew, a deadly environment outside, a monotonous schedule, an unnatural daytime-nighttime cycle and mission controllers constantly on your case.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 19, 2023
Papa plugged the holes in the walls with old newspapers and tin can tops.
From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez
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.
