can1
/kan
/ /kən /modal verb (third singular present can; past could /kʊd/)
1Be able to: they can run fast I could hear footsteps he can’t afford it...
- What they want is one or two books a week which sell in thousands, pretty much as fast as they can unpack them.
- It turns out men and women can set the alarm clock or preset some radio stations with equal ease.
- From the ridge he could see for miles in all directions as the horizon stretched away into the misty mountains.
1.1Be able to through acquired knowledge or skill: I can speak Italian...
- You just know that as soon as he can speak, he's going to be asked what he thinks of Joe being his father.
- Not only can he not read music, he cannot read at all.
- At times like these I wish I could drive.
1.2Have the opportunity or possibility to: there are many ways holidaymakers can take money abroad...
- Well, maybe it isn't fair that one very rich man can use his money to buy any player his club chooses.
- Byng is excited by the new opportunities publishing can enjoy through the internet.
- She can even check the timetable on her mobile phone to find out if Darren's bus has left on time.
1.3 [with negative or in questions] Used to express doubt or surprise about the possibility of something’s being the case: he can’t have finished where can she have gone?...
- Who but the most resentful can seriously doubt that he, too, belongs on that list?
- How many Japanese mobile phone owners can want to know about North London happenings?
- Now, if a telephone company can't even sort out their own phone lines, how can they sort out mine?
1.4Used to indicate that something is typically the case: antique clocks can seem out of place in modern homes he could be very moody...
- In just six weeks he has learned that the internet can be an extremely useful tool for research.
- Even November in Florida could be hot, and that day was no exception.
- Inscriptions in public places can also indicate the social status of the artist.
2Be permitted to: you can use the phone if you want to nobody could legally drink on the premises...
- You are told that you can open the door at any time you wish, but only once, and only briefly.
- Only law officers could legally bear arms.
- It takes a couple of seconds to phone a team doctor and check if you can take something.
3Used to request someone to do something: can you open the window? can’t you leave me alone?...
- He emerged from the shop empty handed, and said: I'm sorry, can you lend me £6?
- Can you open that window?
- Can't you be more reasonable?
3.1Used to make a suggestion or offer: we can have another drink if you like...
- We could eat out somewhere and get to know each other if you want.
- Once again, can I reiterate my offer to Mrs Fell to go through any problems she has.
- We could have another go if you like?
Usage
Is there any difference between may and can when used to request or express permission, as in may/can I ask you a few questions? Many people feel that can should be reserved for expressions denoting capability, as in can you swim?, rather than for those relating to permission. May is, generally speaking, a politer and more formal way of asking for something, and is the better choice in more formal contexts.
Origin
Old English cunnan 'know' (in Middle English 'know how to'), related to Dutch kunnen and German können; from an Indo-European root shared by Latin gnoscere 'know' and Greek gignōskein 'know'.
Nowadays a can is a cylindrical metal container, but its ancestor, Old English cann, was a general word for any container for liquids. It may come from Latin canna (see cannon). If someone carries the can they take responsibility for a mistake or misdeed. The origin of this expression is uncertain, but it probably started life as early 20th-century naval slang. One theory is that it refers to the beer can or keg which one sailor carried for all his companions. An early version was to carry the can back, which might have referred to returning the empties. In film-making and recording you can talk about something being in the can when it has been captured on tape or film to a satisfactory standard. Though videotape and digital recordings are not stored in cans, the older expression has been transferred to them. See also worm, cunning, know
Rhymes
can2
/kan/noun
1A cylindrical metal container: a petrol can a can of paint...
- The emphasis on cans and metal containers has allowed the company to focus on more than just its information and manufacturing systems.
- On the safety side of the issue, rust damage could occur to the bottoms of stored metal containers such as cans of thinner and other combustible fluids.
- The company, which has had to ship coffee in retro metal cans, is now telling retailers supplies will be back to normal by early December.
1.1A small steel or aluminium container in which food or drink is hermetically sealed for storage over long periods: a beer can...
- Green, clear and brown glass, steel food cans and aluminium cans may be recycled at this venue.
- The waste matter for the blue bin includes papers, magazines, cardboard, food tins, aluminium drink cans, milk cartons and plastic bottles.
- Each eligible household is given a black box to put in newspapers, magazines, glass bottles, steel and aluminium cans, textiles and foil to be recycled.
1.2The quantity of food or drink held by a can: he drank two cans of lager...
- Mr Barton said he and Mr Whitelock, who had been friends since they were 12, had drunk cans of lager and alcopops earlier that evening in a field behind Mr Whitelock's house.
- It was not just the larger stores who experienced an upsurge in sales as town centre shops became a hive of activity with people stocking up on everything from cans of cold drinks to fans.
- I suppose you could invite a gang of male friends around, drink cans of lager, turn it up loud and all bounce around in a huddle - but that stopped being my idea of fun quite a while ago.
2 (the can) North American informal Prison: our friends will get a year or two in the can...
- Robert faces a year in the can for drug money laundering despite claiming that he never realized his cousin was a drug-dealer.
- While he may not have a violent crime on record, he's spent plenty of time in the can for other offenses.
- I do hope that she straightens out, but her actions merit real charges, and time in the can.
3 (the can) North American informal The toilet: she walks in and has to use the can
4 (cans) informal Headphones.
verb (cans, canning, canned) [with object]
1Preserve (food) in a can: sardines and anchovies are worth the extra money if canned in olive oil...
- Some food companies now are canning vegetables with no salt added.
- By the 1880s canned foods had an important place in popular diet.
- Disregarding the value of your labor, canning homegrown food may save you half the cost of buying commercially canned food.
2North American informal Dismiss from a job: he was canned because of a tiff over promotion...
- A county wastewater employee says he was canned for speaking out against a private company.
- I watched a district and regional manager fire an employee for a more than acceptable reason, and end up getting canned themselves when the employee sued for wrongful termination.
- Needless to say he was canned along with his boss and dismissed from government work
2.1Reject as inadequate: they canned the project...
- Mr Boman said although the June quarter was traditionally slower than the March quarter, the sales slowdown could result in some projects being canned.
- A $3.5-million cleanup project was canned in May 2000 for feasibility problems.
- However, six months after commencement of my portion of the project, my industry sponsors canned their end of the deal.
Phrases
can it
a can of worms
in the can
Derivatives
canner
/ noun ...- We really had no other choices but to join a cooperative, as no independent canners would buy our peaches.
- Tomato canners love viscous, or nonwatery, tomatoes because less cooking is needed to produce thick sauce.
- In 1908 a San Antonio company canned chili and other canners followed.
Origin
Old English canne, related to Dutch kan and German Kanne; either of Germanic origin or from late Latin canna.