Meaning & use
to cane someone
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitiveBritish
To hit someone several times with a thin wooden stick as a punishment.
Grammar: Takes a person as object: cane someone; the tool is introduced with with.
Patterns
- cane someone for something
- cane someone with something
- be caned
In the past, teachers could cane a student for breaking the rules.
The prisoner was caned as a punishment, which would be illegal today.
He was caned six times for stealing the bread.
verbtransitive
To beat someone hard with a long thin stick, as in an attack.
Grammar: Takes a person as object; often used in the passive.
Patterns
- cane someone across something
- be caned
The attackers caned him across the back until he fell.
Riot police caned protesters who refused to move.
Word forms
| third person singular | canes someone |
|---|---|
| past tense | caned someone |
| past participle | caned someone |
| -ing form | caning someone |
Common combinations
- be caned for something
- Students were caned for talking in class.
- cane someone on the hand
- The headmaster caned him on the hand in front of the class.
- a caning
- He still remembers the caning he received at school.
- corporal punishment
- Caning was a form of corporal punishment.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: to cane someone or cain?
to cane someone vs cain
A name and a different word entirely; only cane has the meaning of hitting with a stick.
Practice
In the past, teachers in some British schools could ___ a pupil for bad behavior.
Choose one answer.
'Cane' is the base verb after the modal 'could'. 'Canned' is the past form of 'can' meaning to preserve food, and 'caning' cannot follow 'could' without an auxiliary.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “to cane someone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.