container

container — noun

1. An object that is designed so that things can be placed inside it, kept there, a

1.nounA2
Definition

An object that is designed so that things can be placed inside it, kept there, and often moved from place to place — for example, a glass jar for jam, a plastic tub for leftovers, or a cardboard box for packing belongings.

Example

Nila poured the leftover soup into a plastic container and put it in the fridge.

collocation: plastic container

All glass containers should be rinsed before they are put into the recycling bin.

adjective + container: glass containers

Common collocations
  • plastic container
  • glass container
  • empty container
  • sealable container
  • airtight container
  • storage container
  • container of [milk / rice / flour]
Synonyms
  • receptacle

    much more formal; mostly used in technical, scientific, or written contexts

  • holder

    emphasises the function of keeping something in place; often smaller (e.g. a phone holder, a cup holder)

  • vessel

    typically for liquids, or used in formal / poetic language; rarely used for everyday objects

Usage Note

Use 'container of [noun]' to describe what is inside — for example, 'a container of milk' or 'a container of flour.' Do not use 'container' without 'of' when specifying contents: say 'a container of rice,' not 'a container rice.'

Common Mistakes

Please bring me a container water.
Please bring me a container of water.
the preposition 'of' is needed when stating what the container holds.
This contain is broken.
This container is broken.
the noun is 'container,' not 'contain.' The verb form is 'contain.'

2. A very large, strong metal box built to a standard size so that it can be filled

2.nounB1
Definition

A very large, strong metal box built to a standard size so that it can be filled with goods and moved by ship, train, or truck without the contents being unpacked during the journey.

Example

The ship was loaded with hundreds of metal containers stacked six high.

collocation: metal containers / stack containers

The furniture was packed into a container and sent straight to the port by lorry.

passive: was packed into a container

Common collocations
  • shipping container
  • cargo container
  • container ship
  • container port
  • container terminal
  • freight container
  • stack containers
  • load a container
  • pack a container
Synonyms
  • cargo container

    emphasises that the container holds commercial freight; same object, different focus

  • shipping container

    the most common full name for this sense; 'container' alone can mean this when the context is about transport

Usage Note

Frequently used as a modifier in compounds: 'container ship' (a ship designed to carry containers), 'container port' (a port equipped to load and unload them), and 'container terminal' (the area of a port where containers are handled). The phrase 'shipping container' is more specific than 'container' on its own and helps avoid confusion with sense 1.

Common Mistakes

They sent the goods by a container.
They sent the goods in a container by ship.
the container is the packaging, not the mode of transport; say 'in a container,' not 'by a container.'

Word family

  • contain
    verbB1
  • containment
    nounC1
  • containerization
    nounC2
  • containerize
    verbC2
  • self-contained
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe something that holds or stores other items, but they differ in scope and register. 'Box' is the most concrete and common; it implies a rigid, usually rectangular object with flat sides, like a cardboard box for shipping or a wooden box for storage. 'Holder' focuses on the function of keeping an item in place — it often refers to smaller objects such as a cup holder, a passport holder, or a phone holder. 'Receptacle' is far more formal and technical; you might see it in official signs ('receptacle for recyclable waste') or in anatomy ('a receptacle for fluid'), but not in everyday conversation. 'Vessel' typically refers to something that holds liquids (a wine vessel, a cooking vessel) or is used in elevated, literary contexts. In casual speech, 'container' is the broadest and most natural choice: 'a container of yogurt' sounds ordinary, while 'a receptacle of yogurt' or 'a vessel of yogurt' would sound strange.

box ↗holder ↗receptaclevessel ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • container of
  • container for

Phrases

  • fill a container
  • empty a container
  • store in a container

Prepositions

  • in a container
  • into a container
  • out of a container

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'container' comes from the Latin verb 'continere' (con- 'together' + tenere 'to hold'), meaning 'to hold together' or 'to contain.' This passed into Old French as 'contenir,' and later into English as 'contain.' The noun 'container' (literally 'that which contains') was formed from 'contain' + the agent suffix '-er.' The shipping-container sense emerged in the mid-20th century when standardised metal boxes revolutionised global freight transport.