Container

How to spell container

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce container

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does container mean?

1. nounAn object used to hold or store something, such as a box, jar, or bottle.

Container in a sentence

• She poured the leftover soup into a sealed plastic container.

• Each container on the cargo ship was packed with electronics.

Where does container come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb continere, meaning 'to hold together' or 'to keep within', formed from the prefix con- 'together' and tenere 'to hold'. English borrowed the verb 'contain' through Old French 'contenir' in the 1300s, and the agent noun 'container', literally 'a thing that holds', was built later by adding the familiar -er ending. The hidden root tenere is remarkably productive: it also gives us 'retain' (hold back), 'detain' (hold away), and 'tenant' (one who holds property). In the twentieth century 'container' took on a specialised industrial sense for the large standardised steel boxes used in shipping. The spelling stays regular once you notice the 'tain' in the middle, the same chunk that sits inside contain.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• tain (from Latin tenere: to hold)
• -er (noun: thing that does)