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
All of which makes the decision to play in the round, packed like sardines in a crushed tin can, all the more significant.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2025
From the outside, the Team Associated trailer looked like a glorified tin can, but inside it was furnished with crisp white shelving and a treasure trove of motor parts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2025
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
Jimbo was standing up close to a mash barrel with a tin can in one paw and holding onto the rim of the barrel with the other paw.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
