A "container" is an object used to hold or store items. It can come in various shapes and sizes, such as boxes, jars, or bags. Containers are made from different materials, including plastic, glass, and metal, and are designed to keep contents safe and organized. They are commonly used in households, industries, and transportation. In the context of technology, a "container" refers to a lightweight, standalone package that includes everything needed to run a piece of software, such as code, libraries, and dependencies. This allows applications to run consistently across different computing environments, making it easier to develop and deploy software. Technologies like Docker are popular for managing these software containers.