tin

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tin/tɪn/

▶noun

• 1 a silvery-white metal, the chemical element of atomic number 50. (Symbol: Sn)

• 2 a lidded airtight container made of tinplate or aluminium.

  ■ Brit. a sealed container for preserving food, made of tinplate or aluminium; a can.

  ■ Brit. an open metal container for baking food.

▶verb (tins, tinning, tinned)

• 1 cover with a thin layer of tin.

• 2 (usu. as adj. tinned) Brit. preserve in a tin: tinned fruit.

• 3 (usu. as noun tinning) tin mining.

– phrases
have a tin ear informal be tone-deaf.

– derivatives
tinner noun,
tinware noun.

– origin OE, of Gmc origin.