tin opener
1
1.3
- noun
- /tɪn ˈəʊpənə/
- UK
:
abrelatas
- Perhaps we all have been using the tin opener the wrong way.
Perhaps we all have been using the tin opener the wrong way.
- Perhaps we all have been using the tin opener the wrong way.
- We have a tin opener, we've got some tongs.
Examples
-
We had tins and this tin opener just broke on us and fell apart.
-
We have a tin opener, we've got some tongs.
-
Night held the cat at bay, waiting patiently with a tin opener in his hand.
Fiction book (1991) -
To prepare the soup, you will need atin opener to cut open the canned vegetables.
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She struggled to find hertin opener among the kitchen tools before making dinner.
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Thetin opener is essential for easily accessing the food stored in metal cans.
Synonyms
61
1.3
A tool used to take the cap or lid off things like bottles
18
1.0
A tool that opens metal cans by cutting the lid
1
8.7
A small metal tool for making holes to open cans
How Easy
- UK
1
1.3
- Archaic
1
8.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a device for opening metal cans' is directly and compositionally derived from 'tin' (a metal container) + 'opener' (a tool for opening). This is a regular noun–noun compound pattern found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Tin opener comes from the old name for metal cans, 'tin', and the simple tool that opens them, an opener. It is literally an opener for a tin, so it means 'a device used for cutting open metal cans'.