container

UK: /kənˈteɪnə^r/ US: /kənˈteɪnɚ/ ,(kən tā′nər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

con•tain•er /kənˈteɪnɚ/   n. [countable]

1. anything that contains or can contain something, as a carton.
2. Communications, Transport a large, reusable box for keeping together smaller crates or cartons in a single shipment:
   The ships unloaded the containers and the dock workers removed the crates from inside them.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

con•tain•er  (kən tā′nər), n. 

1. anything that contains or can contain something, as a carton, box, crate, or can.
2. Communications, Transport a large, vanlike, reuseable box for consolidating smaller crates or cartons into a single shipment, designed for easy and fast loading and unloading of freight.

• 1400–50 for an earlier sense; 1495–1505 for def. 1; late Middle English conteiner; see contain, -er¹

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

container / kənˈteɪnə/ noun

1. an object used for or capable of holding, esp for transport or storage, such as a carton, box, etc
2. a large cargo-carrying standard-sized container that can be loaded from one mode of transport to another
3. (as modifier): a container port, a container ship