Caning vs. Canning — What's the Difference?

Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks (see spanking) or hands (on the palm). Caning on the knuckles or shoulders is much less common.

Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under specific circumstances, it can be much longer.

A slender, strong but often flexible stem, as of certain bamboos, reeds, or rattans.

A usually cylindrical metal container.

A plant having such a stem.

An airtight container, usually made of tin-coated iron, in which foods or beverages are preserved.

Such stems or strips of such stems used for wickerwork or baskets.

The contents of such a container

A bamboo (Arundinaria gigantea) native to the southeast United States, having long stiff stems and often forming canebrakes.

(Slang) A jail or prison.

The stem of a raspberry, blackberry, certain roses, or similar plants.

(Slang) A toilet or restroom.

Sugarcane.

(Slang) The buttocks.

A stick used as an aid in walking or carried as an accessory.

(Slang) A naval destroyer.

A rod used for flogging.

To seal in an airtight container for future use; preserve

A glass cylinder made of smaller, variously colored glass rods that have been fused together, used in glassmaking.

(Slang) To make a recording of

To make, supply, or repair with flexible woody material.

To end the employment of; fire.

To hit or beat with a rod.

To put an end or stop to

Present participle of cane

To solicit cash donations for a charity or other organization such as a club or amateur sports team by holding out a can or other container in a public place.

A beating with a cane.

Present participle of can

Something made of interlaced slender branches of especially willow.

The process of preserving food by heat processing in a sealed vessel (a jar or can).

Work made of interlaced slender branches (especially willow branches)

The practice of collecting aluminum cans or other recyclable objects; making money by collecting and selling such things.