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can

UK/ˈkan/ US/ˈkæn/ very common informal slang us
noun (6) verb (2)

noun

1.
2.

the quantity contained in a can

Synonyms
3.

a buoy with a round bottom and conical top

Synonyms
4.

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?”
Synonyms
5.
6.

verb

1.

preserve in a can or tin

  • “tinned foods are not very tasty”
Synonyms
2.

terminate the employment of

  • “The boss fired his secretary today”
  • “The company terminated 25% of its workers”
Synonyms
Antonyms

Origin

From Middle English can, first and third person singular of connen, cunnen (“to be able, know how”), from Old English can(n), first and third person singular of cunnan (“to know how”), from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (whence also know).

Phrases

  • as best as one can
  • as far as one can tell
  • because one can
  • before one can blink
  • booze can
  • can buoy
  • can but hope
  • can deposit
  • can do
  • can do with
  • can haz
  • can hook

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.