capacity

[ kuh-pas-i-tee ]

/ kəˈpæs ɪ ti /

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See synonyms for: capacity / capacities on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural ca·pac·i·ties.

the ability to receive or contain: This hotel has a large capacity.

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.

power of receiving impressions, knowledge, etc.; mental ability: the capacity to learn calculus.

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.

quality or state of being susceptible to a given treatment or action: Steel has a high capacity to withstand pressure.

position; function; role: He served in the capacity of legal adviser.

legal qualification.

Electricity.

capacitance.
maximum possible output.

adjective

reaching maximum capacity: a capacity audience; a capacity crowd.

OTHER WORDS FOR capacity

2 dimensions, amplitude.

3 endowment, talent, gifts.

4 aptitude, adequacy, competence, capability.

See synonyms for capacity on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of capacity

1375–1425; late Middle English capacite<Middle French <Latin capācitāt- (stem of capācitās), equivalent to capāci-, stem of capāx roomy (cap(ere) to hold + -āci- adj. suffix) + -tāt--ty²

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH capacity

ability, capacity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use capacity in a sentence

Lulu is about rating each other in our most vulnerable, intimate capacities as (physical and emotional) lovers.
The Lulu App is Ruining Dating|Emily Shire|March 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This view holds the Arab world to be stunted, reflecting a cynicism born from the dismissal of our cultures and capacities.
Defeating the Arab Spring Syndrome of Self-Defeat|Talal Alyan|October 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He has represented the highest authorities of the Islamic Republic in many different capacities over the last 30 years.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Eyes U.S. Shutdown, Expresses Doubt Over Nuclear Negotiations|Christopher Dickey|October 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Rather, in his new novel, Bleeding Edge, Pynchon has encountered a subject that resists even his ample literary capacities.
Thomas Pynchon Meets His Match: The Internet|Alexander Nazaryan|September 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST

So, you can expect to see more and more Asian faces in Hollywood films, in varying capacities.
What’s Behind Hollywood’s Asian Flirtation? China’s Box Office|Marlow Stern|August 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Piedmont alone vies with her, and is improving far more rapidly, but Lombardy has great natural capacities peculiarly her own.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
Others faultily refrain altogether from renewing them in their social capacities.
The Ordinance of Covenanting|John Cunningham
Now, that in vowing and swearing to God in both capacities they serve him, appears from various considerations.
The Ordinance of Covenanting|John Cunningham
All are commanded, and believers are encouraged to unite in various capacities in Covenanting.
The Ordinance of Covenanting|John Cunningham
To the greatest extent of the capacities of all, it is dutiful for them to obtain and distribute copies of the blessed word.
The Ordinance of Covenanting|John Cunningham

British Dictionary definitions for capacity

capacity

/ (kəˈpæsɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

the ability or power to contain, absorb, or hold

the amount that can be contained; volumea capacity of six gallons

the maximum amount something can contain or absorb (esp in the phrase filled to capacity)
(as modifier)a capacity crowd

the ability to understand or learn; aptitude; capabilityhe has a great capacity for Greek

the ability to do or produce (often in the phrase at capacity)the factory's output was not at capacity

a specified position or functionhe was employed in the capacity of manager

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

electronics a former name for capacitance

computing

the number of words or characters that can be stored in a particular storage device
the range of numbers that can be processed in a register

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

legal competencethe capacity to make a will

Word Origin for capacity

C15: from Old French capacite, from Latin capācitās, from capāx spacious, from capere to take

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

capacity

OTHER WORDS FOR capacity

Origin of capacity

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH capacity

Words related to capacity

How to use capacity in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for capacity

Word Origin for capacity