noun
Freq #274667
Meanings
-
1
noun
a handheld or electric device for cutting open sealed metal food tins
She used a tin opener to open the can of tomatoes.
Thesaurus
Etymology
A compound of tin, in the British sense of a sealed metal food container, and opener, the instrument noun from open plus -er. Tin opener is the usual British term; can opener is the usual American equivalent. Historical writing often hyphenates the compound.