used to say that someone is able to do something or that something is allowed
My little sister can ride a bike without training wheels.
You can use my phone if yours is out of battery.
✦ Old English "cannan" meaning "to know how to", later shifting to express ability and permission.
a round metal container, usually with a lid, used to hold food, drinks, or other substances
He opened a can of soup for lunch.
Each soda can was crushed before recycling.
✦ Late 19th-century shortening of "canning tin", referring to the metal container used in commercial food preservation.
to put food into jars or metal cans and seal them so it will last a long time
Farmers often can peaches at the end of summer.
We spent the weekend canning tomatoes from the garden.
✦ Early 19th-century use of the noun “can” as a verb meaning “to put into a can for preservation.”
informal: to dismiss someone from a job
The company canned three workers after the budget cuts.
If you keep coming in late, the boss might can you.
✦ Early 20th-century American slang, likening firing someone to throwing something into a trash can.
