tin can

See also: tincan

English

Noun

tin can (plural tin cans)

1. A container, usually cylindrical, made out of sheet metal coated with tin, or (by extension) aluminum.
2. (nautical, slang) A destroyer.
   • 2000, Donald F. Myers, Your War, My War: A Marine in Vietnam, →ISBN, page 305:

     As the tin can sailors started telling us what they thought of AKA sailors, which they said were inferior seamen habing to serve aboard an auxiliary vessel instead of a ship of the line;

3. (slang) An inexpensive car.
   • 2010, Heather Vogel Frederick, The Mother-Daughter Book Club, →ISBN, page 21:

     They're driving the same tin can they've had since Emma and I were in kindergarten.

   • 2016, Liz Nugent, Lying In Wait, →ISBN, page 134:

     We got a shockingly low price for it and bought a small tin-can run-around.

4. (slang) A motor home or trailer.
   • 2007, Errol L. Sweetser, Quest for the Ridge: A Childhood Adventure, →ISBN, page 34:

     I was too late as bearing down the ribbon of no return was a huge tin can piloted by two women with hair blowing over the side windows.

5. (science fiction, slang) A metal spaceship or space station.
   • 1969, David Bowie (lyrics and music), “Space Oddity”:

     For here am I sitting in a tin can / Far above the world / Planet Earth is blue / And there's nothing I can do

Synonyms

• (container): tin (British, Australian & Canadian), can (US & Canadian)

Hypernyms

• can

Derived terms

• tin can telephone

Related terms

• tinfoil
• aluminum can

Translations

container

• Burmese: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 罐頭／罐头 (zh) (guàntou, guàntóu)

• Czech: plechovka (cs) f
• Danish: konservesdåse c
• Estonian: konservikarp
• Finnish: tölkki (fi)
• French: boîte de conserve (fr) f
• Galician: lata (gl) f, lata de conserva f
• German: Konservendose (de) f, Blechbüchse f
• Greek: κονσερβοκούτι (el) n (konservokoúti)
• Italian: lattina (it) f, barattolo (it) m
• Japanese: 罐詰め (かんづめ, kandzume), 缶 (ja) (かん, kan), 罐 (ja) (かん, kan)
• Khmer: កំប៉ង់ (kɑmpong), កំប៉ុង (km) (kɑmpong)
• Korean: 깡통 (ko) (kkangtong), 캔 (kaen)
• Lao: ກະປ່ອງ (ka pǭng)
• Portuguese: latinha f
• Russian: жестя́нка (ru) f (žestjánka), консе́рвная ба́нка (ru) f (konsérvnaja bánka), ба́нка (ru) f (bánka), консе́рва (ru) f (konsérva)
• Thai: กระป๋อง (th) (grà-bpɔ̌ng), ปี๊บ (bpíip)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: lon thiếc, hộp thiếc

References

• Jesse Sheidlower, editor (2001–2024), “tin can, n.”, in Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction.

Anagrams

• Cantin, cannit, incant, tannic