Word.ws English Dictionary

canning

Syllables: Can·ning/ˈkænɪŋ/

canning is the present participle and gerund of can.

Noun

canning (countable and uncountable, plural cannings)

  1. The process of preserving food by heat processing in a sealed vessel (a jar or can).
    • Although aluminium can replace tin in most dry cannings, it is not satisfactory for the canning of acid fruits […]1969, Herbert John Miller, Non-ferrous Metals Industry, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, page 25
  2. The practice of collecting aluminum cans or other recyclable objects; making money by collecting and selling such things.
    • Canners know when they hear the clink of a bottle going into a garbage bin.[…]
      CORNISH: Now, there's also this sense of loss in hearing people in the movie describe what they had been doing before canning became a way of life for them.2013 February 20, Audie Cornish, quoting Matthew O'Neill, “In ‘Redemption,’ Collecting Cans To Survive”, in NPR News
    • “In canning, you go where you want and do what you want,” Gadsden says. “You’re your own boss.”2016 April 8, Malia Wollan, quoting Eugene Gadsen, “How to make money collecting bottles and cans”, in New York Times

Meaning of can

Verb

can (third-person singular simple present can, present participle (by suppletion) able, simple past could, past participle (obsolete) couth)

  1. (auxiliary, defective) To know how to.
    • She can speak English, French, and German.
    Antonyms:
    cannot, can't
  2. (auxiliary, defective) To be able to.
    • Can you remember your fifth birthday?
    Synonyms:
    be able to
    Antonyms:
    cannot, can't
  3. (auxiliary, defective, informal, modal) May; to be permitted or enabled to.
    • You can go outside and play when you're finished with your homework.
    Synonyms:
    may
    Antonyms:
    cannot, can't, may not, mayn't
  4. (auxiliary, defective, modal) To have the potential to; to be possible for (someone or something) to.
    • Can it be Friday already?
    Antonyms:
    cannot, can't
  5. (auxiliary, defective, informal, modal) Used to form requests, typically polite.
    • Can you please come over here?
  6. (obsolete, transitive) To know.
    • ca.1360-1387, William Langland, Piers Plowman
      I can rimes of Robin Hood.
    Synonyms:
    cognize, grok, ken

See all 38 meanings of can

Proper noun capitalized: Canning

IPA/ˈkæn.ɪŋ/

Canning

  1. A surname.
  2. A river in Alaska.
  3. An unincorporated community in Hughes County, South Dakota, United States.
  4. A civil parish in Queens County, New Brunswick, Canada.
  5. A village in Kings County, Nova Scotia.
    Synonyms:
    Apple Tree Landing, Habitant Corner
  6. A town in Buenos Aires province, Argentina.
  7. A river in Western Australia, named after George Canning.
  8. A local government area in Perth, Western Australia; in full, the City of Canning.
  9. A town in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, India.

Synonyms of canning

Forms of canning

pluralcannings

Origin of canning

* The civil parish in New Brunswick is likely named after British prime minister George Canning (1770 - 1827). * The village in Nova Scotia is named after British prime minister George Canning (1770 - 1827).

Words formed from canning

Phrases with canning

Words that rhyme with canning

Questions about canning

What does canning mean?
Canning means the process of preserving food by heat processing in a sealed vessel (a jar or can).
What is canning the present participle and gerund of?
Canning is the present participle and gerund of can.
What part of speech is canning?
Canning can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce canning?
Canning is pronounced /ˈkænɪŋ/.
What is the plural of canning?
The plural of canning is cannings.

Words near canning in the dictionary

  1. canniflavone
  2. cannikin
  3. cannikins
  4. cannily
  5. canniness
  6. canning
  7. canning it
  8. Canning Town
  9. cannings
  10. Cannington
  11. canniniform

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: canning (page history and authors); Canning (page history and authors); can (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-canning.wav.

Cite this entry: “canning.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/canning. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.