jerrican

noun

jer·​ri·​can ˈjer-ē-ˌkan How to pronounce jerrican (audio)
variants or jerry can
: a narrow flat-sided container for liquids usually holding about five U.S. gallons (about 19 liters)

Examples of jerrican in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Squatting on a plastic jerrican, Mukandamage coaxes a gallon and a half of warm, frothy milk out of the cow and into a small metal pail. Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2022 Shakira found some matches and her mother-in-law grabbed a jerrican of diesel fuel. Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2021 The next best option is to go to one of the city’s natural springs to fill up a jerrican, in an experience that feels like an early rehearsal for what is to come on Day Zero. Aryn Baker, TIME.com, 8 Feb. 2018 The looming shutdown has prompted chaos, with a run not only on bottled water but also on water tanks and jerricans. Aryn Baker, TIME.com, 8 Feb. 2018 The tankers came in a range of sizes; the smallest, pulled by a tractor and holding perhaps a few hundred gallons, looked like a jerrican on wheels next to the 4,000-gallon monsters. Samanth Subramanian, WIRED, 2 May 2017 Each one looks very different, with a huge number of custom add-ons: luggage racks, spare wheels, a machine-gun stand, first-aid boxes, spotlights, jerricans, ammo canisters, and on and on and on. David Curcurito, Popular Mechanics, 2 May 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jerrican.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Jerry + can; from its German design

First Known Use

1943, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of jerrican was in 1943

Dictionary Entries Near jerrican

Cite this Entry

“Jerrican.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jerrican. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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