can

verb

1. 1

   To know how to.

   She can speak English, French, and German.

   I can play football.

   prouyng which eny clerk can or woel or mai make bi eny maner euydence of resoun or of Scripture, and namelich of resoun into the contrarie.

   If thou canst awake by four o' the clock, / I prithee call me. Sleep hath seized me wholly.

2. 2

   To be able to.

   Can you remember your fifth birthday?

   Animals can experience emotions.

   Can you hear that?

   I can feel the baby moving inside me.

3. 3

   informalMay; to be permitted or enabled to.

   You can go outside and play when you're finished with your homework.

   Can I use your pen?

4. 4

   To have the potential to; to be possible for (someone or something) to.

   Can it be Friday already?

   Teenagers can really try their parents' patience.

   The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite.[…]Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?

   Teenagers can be so cruel, and nicknames cut deep.

5. 5

   informalUsed to form requests, typically polite.

   Can you please come over here?

   Can we try that scene again?

6. 6

   obsoleteTo know.

   ca.1360-1387, William Langland, Piers Plowman I can rimes of Robin Hood.

   ca.1360-1387, William Langland, Piers Plowman I can no Latin, quod she.

   Let the priest in surplice white, / That defunctive music can.

7. 7

   To be (followed by a word like able, possible, allowed). third-person singular simple present indicative of can

   Importance of Identifying Leaf: Identify Plants: If we can able to identify leaf, we can easily able to identify plants.

   Children in need of care and protection can allowed to be placed in foster care based on the orders of the CWC. The selection of the foster family is based on the family's ability, intent, capacity, and prior experience of taking care[…]

   It can possible to design the ruleset refreshes that allow them to subsequently run at precise interludes and these keep informed.

8. 8

   To be able to or know how to (do something); an accompanying verb is not required if it is already inferable from context.

   Can anot?

9. 9

   To be fine or acceptable; to be possible; (with liao or already) to be enough. Often used in conjunction with a variety of clause-final particles, e.g., lah, meh or one, to express different attitudes towards the subject matter.

   Can liao, don’t need to use so much glue.

   We have been doing this for 50 years, we have shown you what we can do. If I say can, means can. […]

   It’s further exacerbated by well-intentioned but misguided relatives who say, “you’re from School X, can one lah”, or worse, those who associate the very identity of being a student in an elite academy into a label analogous with expectations of high achievements.

   When controversial KOL Sylvia Chan resurfaced in March as a life coach, the general online sentiment was, “Huh, can meh?”

interjection

1. 1

   OK, sure; indicates approval or acknowledgment.

2. 2

   Used to convey reassurance.

particle

1. 1

   OK(?); used at the end of a question when seeking approval or acknowledgment.

   I cut this wire, can?

   Can you go collect them or not? The shop is at Jalan Sultan. I’m not free, otherwise I’ll do it myself. Can?

   It feels like a cheap gimmick to attract environmentalist types, when I don’t see any concrete policies to address that. If you don’t care, then don’t pretend to care leh. If you care, then make sure you got details to back you up, can?

noun

1. 1

   A container or vessel, especially for liquids, usually made of metal.

   I keep a can of fuel for emergencies.

2. 2

   A container or vessel, especially for liquids, usually made of metal. A sealed metal container, cylindrical or cuboid in form, typically used to store preserved foods.

   Soup in a can lasts for years.

3. 3

   A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can).

4. 4

   archaicA chamber pot.

5. 5

   archaicA chamber pot. 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.

   I didn't have anything special to do, so I went down to the can and chewed the rag with him while he was shaving.

   1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure If he was going to hide out in the can, he can just stay there & sleep in the tub.

6. 6

   slangButtocks.

7. 7

   slangThe breasts of a woman.

8. 8

   slangJail or prison.

   Bob’s in the can. He won’t be back for a few years.

   The undercover cop never liked the Monkey Man / Even back in childhood, he wanted to see him in the can

9. 9

   slangHeadphones.

10. 10

    archaicA drinking cup.

    VVhen the vulgar ſort / Sit on their Ale-bench, vvith their cups and kannes, / Matters of ſtate be not their common talke, / Nor pure religion by their lips prophande.

    SIR ANDREW: Nay, my troth, I know not: but I know, to be up late is to be up late. / SIR TOBY: A false conclusion: I hate it as an unfilled can.

    Fill the cup and fill the can: / Have a rouse before the morn: / Every minute dies a man, / Every minute one is born.

11. 11

    A cylindrical buoy or marker used to denote a port-side lateral mark

12. 12

    A chimney pot.

13. 13

    slangAn E-meter used in Scientology auditing.

14. 14

    slangAn ounce (or sometimes, two ounces) of marijuana.

    […] prosecution for selling and giving away marijuana, the evidence clearly constituted substantial proof that a package purchased by defendant contained marijuana where he requested "four cans" of marijuana to be delivered to himself and […]

15. 15

    A protective cover for the fuel element in a nuclear reactor.

verb

1. 1

   To seal in a can.

   They canned air to sell as a novelty to tourists.

2. 2

   To preserve by heating and sealing in a jar or can.

   They spent August canning fruit and vegetables.

3. 3

   To discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.).

   He canned the whole project because he thought it would fail.

   My next stop is Oxford, which has also grown with the addition of new platforms to accommodate the Chiltern Railways service to London via Bicester - although, short sightedly, the planned electrification from Paddington was canned. Evidence of the volte-face can be seen along the line at places such as Radley, where mast piles are already sunk or lie discarded at the lineside.

4. 4

   slangTo shut up.

   Can your gob.

   Maurrant: Aw, can all that talk! You been listenin’ to them bolshevikis, that’s the trouble.

5. 5

   To fire or dismiss an employee.

   The boss canned him for speaking out.

   As a result of his refusal, the employee was subsequently canned in 2015 on the basis of "professional inadequacy" and failing to embody the "party" atmosphere that the consultancy was trying to cultivate.

6. 6

   slangTo hole the ball.

   I thought I had canned it, but it just missed, and I tapped in the second one for a par.

7. 7

   To cover (the fuel element in a nuclear reactor) with a protective cover.

Forms

plural

cans

past tense

could, canned

past participle

couth, canned

present participle

able, canning

third person singular

cans