can

Etymology

Definitions

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.
2. 2

   To be able to.

   • Can you remember your fifth birthday?
   • Animals can experience emotions.
   • Can you hear that?
3. 3

   May

   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?
4. ›+ 40 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To have the potential to

      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.
   2. 5

      Used to form requests, typically polite.

      • Can you please come over here?
      • Can we try that scene again?
   3. 6

      To 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.
   4. 7

      To be (followed by a word like able, possible, allowed). third-person singular simple…

      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.
   5. 8

      To be able to or know how to (do something)

      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?
   6. 9

      To be fine or acceptable

      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. […]
   7. 10

      OK, sure

      OK, sure; indicates approval or acknowledgment.

   8. 11

      Used to convey reassurance.

   9. 12

      OK(?)

      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?
   10. 13

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

       • I keep a can of fuel for emergencies.
   11. 14

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

   12. 15

       A chamber pot.

   13. 16

       Buttocks.

   14. 17

       The breasts of a woman.

   15. 18

       Jail 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
   16. 19

       Headphones.

   17. 20

       A 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.
   18. 21

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

   19. 22

       A chimney pot.

   20. 23

       An E-meter used in Scientology auditing.

   21. 24

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

   22. 25

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

   23. 26

       To seal in a can.

       • They canned air to sell as a novelty to tourists.
   24. 27

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

       • They spent August canning fruit and vegetables.
   25. 28

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

       • He canned the whole project because he thought it would fail.
   26. 29

       To shut up.

       • Can your gob.
       • Maurrant: Aw, can all that talk! You been listenin’ to them bolshevikis, that’s the trouble.
   27. 30

       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.
   28. 31

       To hole the ball.

       • I thought I had canned it, but it just missed, and I tapped in the second one for a par.
   29. 32

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

   30. 33

       Alternative spelling of Can.

   31. 34

       A river in Essex, England, which joins the River Chelmer in Chelmsford

       A river in Essex, England, which joins the River Chelmer in Chelmsford; in full, the River Can.

   32. 35

       A unisex given name

       A unisex given name; used primarily as a middle name.

       • Police say Huu Can Tran, 72, opened fire at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park, on Saturday night, before fatally shooting himself after a manhunt across the region on Sunday.
   33. 36

       Abbreviation of Controller Area Network, ISO standards 11898, 11898-1, 11898-2, and its…

       Abbreviation of Controller Area Network, ISO standards 11898, 11898-1, 11898-2, and its predecessor standards.

   34. 37

       ceric ammonium nitrate

   35. 38

       Abbreviation of controller area network.

   36. 39

       Initialism of campus area network.

   37. 40

       Acronym of community action network.

   38. 41

       Initialism of consistent and asymptotically normal, a statistic estimator Tₙ(X₁, X₂, ...,…

       Initialism of consistent and asymptotically normal, a statistic estimator Tₙ(X₁, X₂, ..., Xₙ) is CAN (consistent and asymptotically normal) if ....

   39. 42

       Acronym of court attendance notice.

   40. 43

       The Andean Community of Nations.

The neighborhood

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• synonymscrap
• synonymjunk
• synonymstifle
• synonymstop talking
• synonymmake silent
• synonymlet go
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• synonymlay off
• neighborcancan
• neighborcan-can
• neighborObamacan
• neighborObama-can