Meanings
- derogatoryslanguncountableAstronauts whose mission involves confinement in a small space capsule.
Many of the 324 candidates […] were convinced that astronauts were going to be “spam in a can,” mere passengers in a capsule controlled by NASA technicians on the ground.
2011, G. Scott Thomas, A New World to be Won, page 261 more example
The lab rat, experimental object, “Spam in a can” idea wasn't NASA's vision of the astronaut, but this unpleasant dimension of astronaut life did seep into spaces with a claim to public attention.
1998, Jodi Dean, Aliens in America, page 78
Origin
In reference to the tinned meat product called SPAM.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
spam in a can. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spam%20in%20a%20can
“spam in a can.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spam%20in%20a%20can. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spam in a can,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spam%20in%20a%20can.
Source: spam in a can on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.