any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another)
"The shipping company inspected the damaged container before allowing us to load the heavy machinery inside."
Someone who contains; something that contains.
"The large metal container held all the leftover soup from the potluck dinner."
In plain English: A container is something that holds or carries other things inside it.
"She placed the fresh vegetables in a large plastic container to keep them crisp."
Usage: Use container to describe any object designed to hold or carry another substance, such as a box, bottle, or jar. It refers specifically to the vessel itself rather than the contents inside it.
The word container comes from Middle English and is formed by adding the suffix "-er" to the verb contain. It originally referred to a person or thing that holds something inside.