Can
WordNet
noun
(1) Airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.
(2) A room or building equipped with one or more toilets
(3) A plumbing fixture for defecation and urination
(4) The fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
"He deserves a good kick in the butt"
"Are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?"
(5) A buoy with a round bottom and conical top
(6) The quantity contained in a can
verb
(7) Preserve in a can or tin
"Tinned foods are not very tasty"
(8) Terminate the employment of
"The boss fired his secretary today"
"The company terminated 25% of its workers"
WiktionaryText
Verb
- 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?
- 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?
- To know.
Usage notes
For missing forms, substitute inflected forms of be able to, as:
The word could also suffices in many tenses. "I would be able to go" is equivalent to "I could go", and "I was not able to go" can be rendered "I couldn't go". (Unless there is a clear indication otherwise, "could verb" means "would be able to verb", but "couldn't verb" means "was/were not able to verb".)
The present tense negative can not is often contracted to cannot or can't.
The use of can in asking permission is sometimes criticized as being impolite or incorrect by those who favour the more formal alternative "may I...?".
Can is sometimes used rhetorically to issue a command, placing the command in the form of a request. For instance, "Can you hand me that pen?" as a polite substitution for "Hand me that pen."
Noun
- A more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids, usually of steel or aluminium.
- A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a
Verb
- To preserve, by heating and sealing in a can or jar.
- Can
- The boss canned him for speaking out.