to can
- verb
- /kæn/
- Informal
- - You were gonna can me, right?
Examples
-
Did he tell you he got canned?
-
If I'm not up on that board by the 30th, they're going to can my ass.
-
The guy you canned the day before Christmas?
-
I mean I canned her, I fired her.
-
Soon afterward, they canned the dean of students and gave his duties to the new vice-principal.
Fiction book (1995) -
-Did you get canned?
-
After being canned, Hirose auditioned for roles, but nothing ever came of his efforts.
Fiction book (2001) -
After the company restructured, they decided to can several employees, including Tom.
-
She was really upset when she found out that they would can her for being late so often.
-
If you continue to ignore the deadlines, you might end up getting canned from your position.
Synonyms
To officially make someone leave their job
Make someone leave a job or group because of a problem
To remove someone from their job
To make someone leave a job by pressure or threats
To make someone stop working for a company
To stop employing someone so they lose their job
To make someone leave their job
To suddenly end someone's job or a relationship, often without warning
To tell someone they must leave their job
Antonyms
Idioms
- Offensive
To attack or punish someone suddenly and violently, often for something they did
- Informal
To not recognize someone at all because you have never met them
Compounds
A small metal or plastic container that holds liquid under pressure and sprays a fine mist
- Literature
Putting off dealing with a difficult issue instead of making a decision now
- Specialized
A floating marker like a metal drum that shows a channel edge or danger in the water
A 2002 American film by Steven Spielberg starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks
- Specialized
A place on a computer where deleted files stay before they are removed for good
How Harsh
- Formal
- UK
- Informal
Surface Forms
Etymology
The informal US verb can meaning 'to fire' probably comes from the idea of putting someone into a 'can' — to get rid of them — so to can someone is to remove them from their job.