capacity

American  

[kuh-pas-i-tee] / kəˈpæs ɪ ti /

noun

• capacities
  plural

1. 

   the ability to receive or contain.

   This hotel has a large capacity.

2. the maximum amount or number that can be received or contained; cubic contents; volume.

   The inn is filled to capacity.

   The gasoline tank has a capacity of 20 gallons.

   Synonyms:

   amplitude

3. power of receiving impressions, knowledge, etc.; mental ability.

   the capacity to learn calculus.

   Synonyms:

   talent, endowment

4. actual or potential ability to perform, yield, or withstand.

   He has a capacity for hard work.

   The capacity of the oil well was 150 barrels a day.

   She has the capacity to go two days without sleep.

   Synonyms:

   capability, competence, adequacy, aptitude

5. quality or state of being susceptible to a given treatment or action.

   Steel has a high capacity to withstand pressure.

6. position; function; role.

   He served in the capacity of legal adviser.

7. legal qualification.

8. Electricity.

   1. capacitance.

   2. maximum possible output.

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adjective

1. reaching maximum capacity.

   a capacity audience;

   a capacity crowd.

capacity British  

/ kəˈpæsɪtɪ /

noun

1. the ability or power to contain, absorb, or hold

2. the amount that can be contained; volume

   a capacity of six gallons

3. 1. the maximum amount something can contain or absorb (esp in the phrase filled to capacity )

   2. ( as modifier )

      a capacity crowd

4. the ability to understand or learn; aptitude; capability

   he has a great capacity for Greek

5. the ability to do or produce (often in the phrase at capacity )

   the factory's output was not at capacity

6. a specified position or function

   he was employed in the capacity of manager

7. a measure of the electrical output of a piece of apparatus such as a motor, generator, or accumulator

8. electronics a former name for capacitance

9. computing

   1. the number of words or characters that can be stored in a particular storage device

   2. the range of numbers that can be processed in a register

10. the bit rate that a communication channel or other system can carry

11. legal competence

    the capacity to make a will

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• capacities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of capacity

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English capacite, capasite, from Middle French, from Latin capācitāt-, stem of capācitās “ability, understanding,” equivalent to capāci- (stem of capāx “confident, fit, roomy,” equivalent to cap(ere) “to take, seize” + -āx, adjective suffix) + -tās -ty ²

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Explanation

Capacity describes your ability to do something or the amount something can hold. If your bird cage is at full capacity, you can't stuff one more feathered friend in there without causing birdie claustrophobia. From the Latin word capacitatem meaning “breadth, capacity,” capacity is a noun that in the simplest sense means "ability" or "capability": the capability of a room to hold a certain number of people, the ability of a law to change crime rates, your ability to pick up foreign languages. You might hear about factories working at "full capacity" — that means at full speed, producing as much as they possibly can.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

capacity capacities

Bullock added that the economy remains capacity constrained and that demand needs to cool further if the RBA is to achieve its inflation target of 2.5%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

At the same time, Beijing’s ministry of commerce has warned against “hyping the so-called excess capacity of China.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

Part of the proceeds will go towards doubling the capacity of his Lagos-based 700,000-barrel per day refinery -- already bigger than any in Europe.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

Broadcom called the partnership its “largest strategic compute capacity agreement to date,” Naji said, referring to a conversation with the company’s management.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

They are strangers to our character, ignorant of our capacity, oblivious to our history and progress, and are misinformed as to the principles and ideas that control and guide us, as a people.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Free from drugs and violence, and with treatment for mental illness, they discover spirituality and their creative capacities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

We are building capacities on the Red Sea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

"I doubt 'SI' will stick, in part because it exaggerates the current capacities of AI," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

"Understanding how non-human animals responded to death provides insight into their emotional lives, social bonds, and cognitive capacities."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

If we can model its processes, it is because we have developed our own capacities for making nature-like artefacts.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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Related Words

• capability
• competence
• efficiency
• facility
• power
• readiness
• skill
• strength
• talent

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