can opener

English

A rotary-style can opener

A piercing-style can opener

Alternative forms

• can-opener

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

can opener (plural can openers)

1. A device used to open tin cans, usually by slicing the lid off.

   Synonym: (British) tin opener

   Hypernym: opener

   Hyponyms: churchkey, church key

   Coordinate term: bottle opener

2. (roller derby) A shoulder hit to the chest, usually accomplished while moving from a crouched to a standing position.
3. (slang) A tool for safe-cracking.
   • 1933, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Investigation of So-Called "Rackets": Hearings, page 697:

     Even the work of opening a safe with nitroglycerine or with a can opener places the criminal in a state of nervous tension.

   • 2003, Edward Anthony Gibbons, Crime, Passion & Conscience, page 69:

     “I wonder why they didn't use 'soup' (nitroglycerine) snuffing the drum (blowing safe) instead of a 'can-opener,” (3 ft. steel rod, pointed one end to punch starting hole in bottom of safe, other end shaped like a can opener to peal^[sic] the bottom of safe open.) commented McLaughlin? ^[sic]

4. (military, nautical, slang) A ramming maneuver, that opens up the target ship like a tin can.
5. (military, slang) An anti-tank munition or attack vehicle, that opens up armour like a tin can.

Translations

device used to open tin cans

• Afrikaans: blikoopmaker m
• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: فَتَّاحَة f (fattāḥa), مِفَكّ m (mifakk)

  Egyptian Arabic: فَتَّاحَة f (fattāḥa)

  Hijazi Arabic: فَتَّاحَة f (fattāḥa)

  Moroccan Arabic: ساروت الحك (sārūt el-ḥukk)

• Armenian: բացիչ (hy) (bacʻičʻ)
• Asturian: abrelates (ast) m
• Basque: lata-irekitzekoa, lata-irekigailua
• Belarusian: адкрыва́льнік m (adkryválʹnik), кансе́рвавы нож m (kansjérvavy nož)
• Catalan: obrellaunes m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 開罐器／开罐器 (kāiguànqì)

• Czech: otvírák na konzervy m
• Danish: dåseåbner (da) c
• Dutch: blikopener (nl) m
• Estonian: konservikarbiavaja
• Finnish: tölkinavaaja (fi), purkinavaaja (fi)
• French: ouvre-boîtes (fr) m, ouvre-boîte (fr) m
• Galician: abrelatas (gl) m, abridor (gl) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Dosenöffner (de) m
• Greek: ανοιχτήρι (el) n (anoichtíri)
• Hebrew: פותחן (he) m (potkhán)
• Hiligaynon: abrilatas
• Hungarian: konzervnyitó (hu)
• Ibanag: abrelata
• Icelandic: dósahnífur (is) m
• Italian: apriscatole (it) m
• Japanese: 缶切り (ja) (かんきり, kankiri)
• Khmer: ប្រដាប់​គាស់​កំប៉ុង (prɑɑdap-kŏəh-kɑmpong)
• Korean: 깡통따개 (kkangtongttagae), 캔따개 (ko) (kaenttagae)
• Lao: ອັນໄຂກະປ໋ອງ (lo) (ʼan khai ka pǭng)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: отворач за конзе́рви m (otvorač za konzérvi)
• Maori: tīwara, tīwara tīni, tīwara kēne
• Mongolian: лааз онгойлгогч (laaz ongojlgogč)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: boksåpner m

• Persian: قوطی بازکن (fa) (quti-bâzkon)
• Polish: otwieracz do konserw m, otwieracz do puszek m
• Portuguese: abridor de lata (pt) m (Brazil); abre-latas (pt) m (Portugal)
• Romanian: deschizător de conserve n, deschizător pentru conserve n, desfăcător de conserve n, desfăcător pentru conserve n
• Russian: консе́рвный нож (ru) m (konsérvnyj nož), открыва́шка (ru) f (otkryváška)
• Scottish Gaelic: fosglair chanastairean m
• Slovak: otvárač na konzervy m
• Slovene: konzervni odpirač m
• Sotho: sebuladithine m
• Spanish: abrelatas (es) m, abridor (es) m
• Swedish: konservöppnare (sv) c, burköppnare (sv) c
• Tagalog: abrilata, abrelata
• Thai: ที่เปิดกระป๋อง (tîi-bpə̀ət-grà-bpɔ̌ng)
• Turkish: konserve açacağı, açıcı (tr)
• Turkmen: açawaç
• Ukrainian: консе́рвний ніж m (konsérvnyj niž), відкрива́чка f (vidkryváčka)
• Uzbek: ochgʻich
• Vietnamese: đồ khui hộp, đồ mở hộp