can it

verb

"can-it" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“can it” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To shut up, to be quiet; to quit doing something; to put an end to something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-can-it · can it · English

can it · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for can it
PropertyValue
Headwordcan it
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “can it” in English

can itsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

can it is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To shut up, to be quiet; to quit doing something; to put an end to something.".

Zero misspellings are on record for can it in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is can it, spelled C-A-N- -I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To shut up, to be quiet; to quit doing something; to put an end to something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how can it appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Can it, you two! I'm trying to work.
  2. I told him to can it, 'cause he was getting to be annoying.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "can it"?
"can it" is spelled C-A-N- -I-T.
What does "can it" mean?
As a verb, "can it" means: To shut up, to be quiet; to quit doing something; to put an end to something.
What language does "can it" come from?
"can it" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list