PHRASE
If someone is a
loose cannon
, they do whatever they want and nobody can predict what they are going to do. □
Max is a loose cannon politically.
4
→ see also
water cannon
can|non|ade
/kæ
nəne
I
d/ (cannonades
) N‑COUNT
A
cannonade
is an intense continuous attack of gunfire. □
…the distant thunder of a cannonade.
cannon|ball
/kæ
nənbɔːl/ (cannonballs
) also
cannon ball
N‑COUNT
A
cannonball
is a heavy metal ball that is fired from a cannon.
ca
n|non fod|der
also
cannon-fodder
N‑UNCOUNT
If someone in authority regards people they are in charge of as
cannon fodder
, they do not care if these people are harmed or lost in the course of their work. □
The conscripts were treated as cannon fodder.
can|not
◆◇◇ /kæ
nɒt, kənɒ
t/
Cannot
is the negative form of
can
.
can|ny
/kæ
ni/ (cannier
, canniest
) ADJ
[usu ADJ
n] A
canny
person is clever and able to think quickly. You can also describe a person's behaviour as
canny
. □
He was far too canny to risk giving himself away.
ca|noe
/kənuː
/ (canoes
) N‑COUNT
A
canoe
is a small, narrow boat that you move through the water using a stick with a wide end called a paddle.
ca|noe|ing
/kənuː
I
ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT
Canoeing
is the sport of using and racing a canoe. □
They went canoeing in the wilds of Canada.
ca|noe|ist
/kənuː
I
st/ (canoeists
) N‑COUNT
A
canoeist
is someone who is skilled at racing and performing tests of skill in a canoe.
can|on
/kæ
nən/ (canons
)
1
N‑COUNT
A
canon
is a member of the clergy who is on the staff of a cathedral.
2
N‑COUNT
A
canon
of texts is a list of them that is accepted as genuine or important. [FORMAL
] □ [+ of
]
He had to read a canon of accepted literary texts.
□
…the Irish literary canon.
ca|noni|cal
/kənɒ
n
I
k
ə
l/ ADJ
[ADJ
n] If something has
canonical
status, it is accepted as having all the qualities that a thing of its kind should have. □
…Ballard's status as a canonical writer.
can|on|ize
/kæ
nəna
I
z/ (canonizes
, canonizing
, canonized
)
in BRIT, also use canonise
VERB
[usu passive] If a dead person
is canonized
, it is officially announced by the Catholic Church that he or she is a saint. □ [be
V
-ed]
Joan of Arc was finally canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.
ca
n|on la
w
N‑UNCOUNT
Canon law
is the law of the Christian Church. It has authority only for that church and its members. □
The Church's canon law forbids remarriage of divorced persons.
ca|noo|dle
/kənuː
d
ə
l/ (canoodles
, canoodling
, canoodled
) VERB
If two people
are canoodling
, they are kissing and holding each other a lot. [mainly OLD-FASHIONED
] □ [V
+ with
]
He was seen canoodling with his new girlfriend.
[Also V
]
ca
n open|er
(
can openers
) N‑COUNT
A
can opener
is the same as a
tin opener
.
cano|pied
/kæ
nəpid/ ADJ
[usu ADJ
n] A
canopied
building or piece of furniture is covered with a roof or a piece of material supported by poles. □
…a canopied Elizabethan bed.
cano|py
/kæ
nəpi/ (canopies
)
1
N‑COUNT
A
canopy
is a decorated cover, often made of cloth, which is placed above something such as a bed or a seat.
2
N‑COUNT
[usu sing] A
canopy
is a layer of something that spreads out and covers an area, for example the branches and leaves that spread out at the top of trees in a forest. □
The trees formed such a dense canopy that all beneath was a deep carpet of pine-needles.
cant
/kæ
nt/ N‑UNCOUNT
If you refer to moral or religious statements as
cant
, you are criticizing them because you think the person making them does not really believe what they are saying. [DISAPPROVAL
] □
…politicians holding forth with their usual hypocritical cant.
can't
/kɑː
nt, [AM
] kæ
nt/
Can't
is the usual spoken form of 'cannot'.
can|ta|loupe
/kæ
ntəluːp, [AM
] -loʊp/ (cantaloupes
) also
cantaloup
N‑COUNT
A
cantaloupe
is a type of
melon
.