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Glite Dictionary
🏭 A canning machine 🛒 A can collector
canner

canner

6.0
A person who collects empty metal cans to sell or recycle
  • noun
  • /ˈkænər/
  • US
translation icon : reciclador
  • After a long day of work, the canner took home bags filled with aluminum cans.

Examples

  • The local canner sold the recycled metal to a factory for extra income.

  • Today I found a pressure canner, hot bath canner, Blue Ball book, and jars at the thrift shop!

    Blog text (20)

  • I suppose I have been canning for over 50 years and have only had failed seals to count on one hand and zero broken jars in a canner.

    Blog text (8)

  • It also contributed about 49% of the raw material needs of U.S. canners in 1996 for a production of 27.4 million standard cases of canned light meat tuna.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The canner collected empty soda cans from the street to recycle them.

Synonyms

scavenger
vscanner
20 5.5

A person who searches through trash for things to reuse or sell

targets discarded metal or aluminum cans to sell or recycle rather than any waste
gatherer
vscanner
19 3.2

A person who collects wild plants and berries for a living

specializes in collecting discarded metal or aluminum cans to sell or recycle
recycler
vscanner
4 3.0

A person, company, or machine that collects and prepares used materials to be used again

collects discarded metal or aluminum cans mainly to sell or recycle rather than process them
junker
vscanner
  • US
1 8.1

A person who collects and fixes old broken things to sell or keep

concentrates on collecting discarded metal or aluminum cans to sell or recycle
junkman
vscanner
  • US
1 5.1

A person who collects old things to sell or throw away

focuses on discarded metal or aluminum cans to sell or recycle rather than general junk
scrapper
vscanner
  • US
4.8

A person who collects and sells scrap metal and old appliances

focuses specifically on collecting discarded metal or aluminum cans to sell or recycle
picker-up
vscanner
  • Archaic
7.4

A person who collects litter from places like beaches or parks

collects discarded metal or aluminum cans to sell or recycle rather than just tidy places

Surface Forms

canner singular
canners plural

Morphology

canner = can (transparent) = can + er

This is a straightforward agent noun meaning a person associated with cans, namely someone who collects them.

Etymology

Canner comes from can meaning 'metal container' and the ending -er meaning 'one who does something'. A helpful way to remember is to think of a canner like a baker: instead of baking, they collect empty cans to sell or recycle.