noun 1.anything that
contains or can
contain something, as a carton, box, crate, or can.
2.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.
Origin: 1400–50 for an earlier sense;
1495–1505 for def 1; late Middle English conteiner; see
contain,
-er1