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tin can

See more synonyms for tin can on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. can2(def 1).
  2. U.S. Navy Slang. a destroyer.
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Origin of tin can

An Americanism dating back to 1760–70
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tin can

Historical Examples

  • They've got the bottle-neck holder, the tin-can lantern, and all the rest.

    Girl Scouts in the Adirondacks

    Lillian Elizabeth Roy

  • Tommie and Jennie were too shy to answer, but Mary exclaimed, "'Tis in a tin-can ye see it shinin' here!"

    King Coal

    Upton Sinclair

  • Tin-can sealers are made to handle the regular Number 2, or pint cans, and the Number 3, or quart cans.

    Every Step in Canning

    Grace Viall Gray

  • Most of us must live from the box and the bottle and the tin-can; we are even feeding our cattle from the factory and the bag.

    The Holy Earth

    L. H. Bailey

  • A hat or tin-can is placed on the ground between a player's feet, whose name is "It."

British Dictionary definitions for tin can

tin can

noun
  1. a metal food container, esp when empty
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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