tin can

noun

1. can.

2. U.S. Navy Slang.,  a destroyer.

tin can

noun

1. a metal food container, esp when empty

Word History and Origins

Origin of tin can¹

An Americanism dating back to 1760–70

Example Sentences

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.

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“They have been found in tin cans, in coconut halves,” Rundell writes.

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I have fond memories of walking with my dad on Saturday mornings to a nearby cannery, where we could buy big tin cans of freshly squeezed OJ still warm from being pasteurized.

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Some people even unroll tin cans into strips to form parts of their walls.

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He was a mostly self-taught golfer who had fashioned a swing using a branch from a guava tree for a club and a crushed tin can for a ball.

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