| can | |
| 1. v. (auxiliary verb, defective) To know how to; to be able to. | |
| She can speak English, French, and German. I can play football. Can you remember your fifth birthday? | |
| 2. v. (modal auxiliary verb, defective, informal) May; to be permitted or enabled to. | |
| You can go outside and play when you're finished with your homework. Can I use your pen? | |
| 3. v. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have the potential to; be possible. | |
| Can it be Friday already? | |
| Teenagers can really try their parents' patience. | |
| Animals can experience emotions. | |
| 4. v. (auxiliary verb, defective) Used with verbs of perception. | |
| Can you hear that?. | |
| I can feel the baby moving inside me. | |
| 5. v. (obsolete, transitive) To know. | |
| 6. n. A more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids, usually of steel or aluminium, but sometimes of plastic, and with a carrying handle over the top. | |
| 7. n. A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can). | |
| 8. n. A tin-plate canister, often cylindrical, for preserved foods such as fruit, meat, or fish. | |
| 9. n. (archaic) A chamber pot, now (US, slang) a toilet or lavatory. | |
| Shit or get off the can. | |
| Bob's in the can. You can wait a few minutes or just leave it with me. | |
| 10. n. (US, slang) Buttocks. | |
| 11. n. (slang) Jail or prison. | |
| Bob's in the can. He won't be back for a few years. | |
| 12. n. (slang) Headphones. | |
| 13. n. (archaic) A drinking cup. | |
| 14. n. (nautical) A cube-shaped buoy or marker used to denote a port-side lateral mark | |
| 15. n. A chimney pot. | |
| 16. v. To preserve, by heating and sealing in a can or jar. | |
| They spent August canning fruit and vegetables. | |
| 17. v. to discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.). | |
| He canned the whole project because he thought it would fail. | |
| 18. v. To shut up. | |
| Can your gob. | |
| 19. v. (US, euphemistic) To fire or dismiss an employee. | |
| The boss canned him for speaking out. | |
