Definitions for CAN
kæn; unstressed kəncan

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.5 / 2 votes

1. can, tin, tin cannoun

   airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.

2. can, canfulnoun

   the quantity contained in a can

3. can, can buoynoun

   a buoy with a round bottom and conical top

4. buttocks, nates, arse, butt, backside, bum, buns, can, fundament, hindquarters, hind end, keister, posterior, prat, rear, rear end, rump, stern, seat, tail, tail end, tooshie, tush, bottom, behind, derriere, fanny, assnoun

   the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on

   "he deserves a good kick in the butt"; "are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?"

5. toilet, can, commode, crapper, pot, potty, stool, thronenoun

   a plumbing fixture for defecation and urination

6. toilet, lavatory, lav, can, john, privy, bathroomverb

   a room or building equipped with one or more toilets

7. can, tin, put upverb

   preserve in a can or tin

   "tinned foods are not very tasty"

8. displace, fire, give notice, can, dismiss, give the axe, send away, sack, force out, give the sack, terminateverb

   terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position

   "The boss fired his secretary today"; "The company terminated 25% of its workers"

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Cannoun

   A cup; generally a cup made of metal, or some other matter than earth.

   Etymology: canne, Sax.

   I hate it as an unfill’d can. William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night.

   One tree, the coco, affordeth stuff for housing, cloathing, shipping, meat, drink, and can. Nehemiah Grew, Cosmologia Sacra.

   His empty can, with ears half worn away,
   Was hung on high, to boast the triumph of the day. Dryden.

2. Canverb

   It is sometimes, though rarely, used alone; but is in constant use as an expression of the potential mood;

   Etymology: konnen, Dutch.

   1. To be able; to have power.

   In place there is licence to do good and evil, whereof the latter is a curse; for, in evil, the best condition is not to will; the second not to can. Francis Bacon, Essays, №. 11.

   O, there’s the wonder!
   Mecænas and Agrippa, who can most
   With Cæsar, are his foes. His wife Octavia,
   Driv’n from his house, sollicits her revenge,
   And Dolabella, who was once his friend. John Dryden, All for Love.

   He can away with no company, whose discourse goes beyond what claret and dissoluteness inspires. John Locke.

   2. It expresses the potential mood; as, I can do it.

   If she can make me blest? She only can:
   Empire, and wealth, and all she brings beside,
   Are but the train and trappings of her love. Dryden.

   3. It is distinguished from may, as power from permission; I can do it; it is in my power: I may do it; it is allowed me: but, in poetry, they are confounded.4. Can is used of the person with the verb active, where may is used; of the thing, with the verb passive; as, I can do it; it may be done.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. can

   The word "can" is a modal verb that is used to indicate the ability or capability of someone or something to do a specific action or task. It implies that the person or thing has the capacity, skill, or permission to accomplish or perform the mentioned action.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Can

   an obs. form of began, imp. & p. p. of Begin, sometimes used in old poetry. [See Gan.]

2. Cannoun

   a drinking cup; a vessel for holding liquids

3. Cannoun

   a vessel or case of tinned iron or of sheet metal, of various forms, but usually cylindrical; as, a can of tomatoes; an oil can; a milk can

4. Canverb

   to preserve by putting in sealed cans

5. Can

   to know; to understand

6. Can

   to be able to do; to have power or influence

7. Can

   to be able; -- followed by an infinitive without to; as, I can go, but do not wish to

8. Etymology: [OE. & AS. canne; akin to D. Kan, G. Kanne, OHG. channa, Sw. Kanna, Dan. kande.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. CAN

   Can was a German experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first krautrock groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music. Can constructed their music largely through collective spontaneous composition—which the band differentiated from improvisation in the jazz sense—sampling themselves in the studio and editing down the results; bassist/chief engineer Holger Czukay referred to Can's live and studio performances as "instant compositions". They had occasional commercial success, with singles such as "Spoon" and "I Want More" reaching national singles charts. Through albums such as Monster Movie, Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi and Future Days, the band exerted a considerable influence on avant-garde, experimental, underground, ambient, new wave and electronic music.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Can

   kan, v.i. to be able: to have sufficient power:—pa.t. Could.—Can is used for gan in M. E. and even in Spenser. [A.S. cunnan, to know (how to do a thing), to be able, pres. indic. can; Goth. kunnan, Ger. können, to be able. See Know.]

2. Can

   kan, n. a vessel for holding or carrying liquids, generally of tinned iron, with a handle over the top: a chimney-pot: a vessel of tin-plate in which meat, fruit, &c. are hermetically sealed for exporting—in England usually called a tin: a drinking-mug.—v.t. to put up for preservation in cans.—n.pl. Canned′-goods, meat, fruit, &c. so prepared for preservation.—n. Can′nery, a place where meat, fish, fruit, &c. are canned. [A.S. canne; cf. L. canna, a reed, Gr. kannē, a reed.]

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. can

   A tin vessel used by sailors to drink out of.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. can

   Be able.

   We can do easily what is vital, necessary and just.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on January 25, 2020  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. can

   Song lyrics by can -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by can on the Lyrics.com website.

2. CAN

   What does CAN stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the CAN acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

3. Can

   Can vs. May -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Can and May.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. CAN

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Can is ranked #23750 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Can surname appeared 1,065 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Can.
   
   37.6% or 401 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   34.1% or 364 total occurrences were White.
   21.9% or 234 total occurrences were Asian.
   3.1% or 33 total occurrences were Black.

Matched Categories

1. • Body Part
   • Buoy
   • Containerful
   • Plumbing Fixture
   • Remove

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'CAN' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #48

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'CAN' in Written Corpus Frequency: #50

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'CAN' in Nouns Frequency: #2360

4. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'CAN' in Verbs Frequency: #7

Anagrams for CAN »

1. ANC

2. CNA

3. NCA

How to pronounce CAN?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say CAN in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of CAN in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of CAN in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of CAN in a Sentence

1. Steve Tsang:

   When the police come and ask for whatever, as long as it is in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong, they have to comply, this can conflict with the expectations people have of their multinationals back in their home country.

2. Jerome Kim:

   Without an authority coordinating things centrally, the only thing you can do is make people aware of the facts and the truth, and my guess is this is her solution.

3. Carlos Garcia:

   More people are going to be assassinated, more people are going to suffer from domestic violence, more people are going to die, that's the reality. When I go and talk to them at the detention center ... they look at me and they tell me, 'I can't go back.'.

4. Fiona McEntee:

   I can see parallels between the migrants at the border and between the Irish immigrants of yesteryear.

5. Martin St. Louis:

   It’s a puck that I’ll always remember, you can win your first game in many ways, but to win it on a comeback with an extra attacker and an overtime winner is special.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=CAN
2. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=CAN
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/CAN
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=CAN
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=CAN
7. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=CAN
8. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html