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jerrycan

UK/ˈd͡ʒɛɹiˌkæn/US/ˈd͡ʒɛɹiˌkæn/
nounC1Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechneutral

Other forms: jerrycans

A jerrycan is a flat-sided metal can for carrying fuel. A jerrycan of diesel.

The German design was so much better than the British one that the Allies copied it exactly. A jerrycan has three handles so one person or two can carry it.

JohnM · Public domain

Definitions of jerrycan

  1. 1nounjerrycanA flat-sided metal can for carrying fuel.C1

    “The jerrycan in the shed had been full since 1974.”

jerrycan is a container.

Where it comes from

From Jerry, wartime slang for a German, plus can; the design was captured and copied in the Second World War.

From Jerry + can, from its use by German troops in World War II.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Containers & Packaging

Practise this word

jerrycan in the wild

  • A jerrycan or jerrican (also styled jerry can or jerri can) is a fuel container made from pressed steel (and more recently, high density polyethylene).

    Jerrycan

  • Growing up, Businge recalls often carrying a 20-liter jerrycan on her head.

    Godliver Businge

  • Both 4 gallon flimsies and the original 2 gallon cans were replaced by the jerrycan, copied from the much better German design of fuel container.

    Flimsy

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.