in the can
Idioms-
In the lavatory, as in He can't come to the phone; he's in the can . The related on the can means “sitting on the toilet.” The noun can is used for both the room and the toilet. [ Slang ; c. 1900]
-
Completed, as in About a hundred pages of her next book are in the can . This usage originated in filmmaking to describe a completed motion picture, when film was literally put into a can or canister. [ Slang ; c. 1930]
-
As an out-of-the-money finisher in a horse race, where a horse comes in fourth or worse. For example, He had no luck that day—every bet ended up in the can . [1960s]
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.
People used to say they could use the down weeks to get sketches in the can, but they don’t do that.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
Season 6 is already in the can, and Season 7 is due to start filming this fall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025
"It's going to be a patchwork of different genres and whatever they have in the can that they can run," media consultant Brad Adgate said of the broadcast schedules.
From Reuters ● Sep. 7, 2023
Scenes from a film which was already in the can, All The Money in the World, were re-shot with a new actor, Christopher Plummer, replacing Spacey.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2023
I filled it with water and began picking up the dying fish from the mud puddles, putting them in the can, and dumping them in the creek.
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.
