caper
1 Americanverb (used without object)
noun
idioms
noun
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a spiny shrub, Capparis spinosa, of Mediterranean regions, having roundish leaves and solitary white flowers.
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its flower bud, which is pickled and used for garnish or seasoning.
noun
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a playful skip or leap
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a high-spirited escapade
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to skip or jump playfully
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to act or behave playfully; frolic
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slang a crime, esp an organized robbery
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informal a job or occupation
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informal a person's behaviour
verb
noun
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a spiny trailing Mediterranean capparidaceous shrub, Capparis spinosa, with edible flower buds
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any of various similar plants or their edible parts See also bean caper capers
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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capersimple
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caperssimple
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have caperedperfect
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has caperedperfect
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am caperingprogressive
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are caperingprogressive
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is caperingprogressive
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have been caperingperfect progressive
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has been caperingperfect progressive
Past
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caperedsimple
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had caperedperfect
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was caperingprogressive
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were caperingprogressive
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had been caperingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of caper1
First recorded in 1585–95; probably shortening and alteration of capriole ( def. )
Origin of caper2
1350–1400; back formation from capers (taken for plural), Middle English caperes < Latin capparis < Greek kápparis
Explanation
A goofy little joke or prank, a crime, or a ridiculous adventure is called a caper. For example, your quest for an American newspaper turned into a caper that took you all over the Irish countryside. Caper originates from the Italian word capriolare, meaning “jump in the air,” and indeed, one meaning is "frolicking play or light-hearted dancing." Little kids like to caper at family parties — it gets them tons of attention. Other kinds of capers might get you jail time because a caper can also be an outlandish crime spree, or a wild activity. Finally, capers are the very flavorful pickled flower bud found in Mediterranean cooking.
Vocabulary lists containing caper
Animal Farm
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
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Twelfth Night
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Hence her latest caper, which begins with a mission to track down a vintage desk and turns on a dime into a heist tied to a cache of gold.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
The intricacy with which Whitehead details the planning and execution of this caper marks him as a top-tier researcher — he’s drawn on many primary sources to ground this work of fiction in historical fact.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
A group of digital-savvy Gen-Zers try to pull off a crypto caper in the impressively entertaining feature debut from writer-director Ronan Corrigan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
A crime caper blended with off‑beat comedy, fans of "Derry Girls" will instantly recognise McGee's love of the absurd and larger‑than‑life characters.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
The school halls echo with tales of his hilarious pranks, pulled off with the faithful Jordie and Pouncey at his side—the snowball-filled-with-peanut-butter caper; the salt-in-the-teachers’-room-coffee affair; the lard-in-the-parade-route incident.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
His celebrations will have to wait for now, but by Tuesday, Ward could well be getting up to all sorts of capers in Glasgow with his Scotland team-mates.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
“Deadliest Catch” never needed stupid capers to create tension, and with any luck there won’t be many more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
He recommends chicken piccata, a bright and acidic dish that’s heavy on butter, capers, lemon juice and lemon zest.
From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2026
Or maybe just revelling in the Canadian capers.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026
You can’t help but laugh at de capers they cuts.
From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
"We don't have the means to pay for her studies," she explained from their home's back courtyard, where young children capered about and two rams watched from an enclosure.
From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026
Her two dogs, Emma and Bubba, capered into Speier’s sunny living and dining room, lightening the mood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2023
Ornamental young debutantes capered about in Christian Lacroix pouf dresses.
From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2022
Addie, a lefty who mastered the monkey bars at two, capered about like a leprechaun, indifferent to the fate of her swooping forehands.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 18, 2016
He capered out from under the porch where he lived in hot weather, and ran circles around us, dropping down to slide his hind end in the weeds.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
There’s a scene in “Don’t Worry Darling” where Harry Styles, playing a character named Jack, is shown onstage at a large raucous gathering, spinning and capering before the crowd in a frenzied solo dance.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2022
He has described Flavor, with his comic-strip grin and giant clock medallion, as “a visual character with audio bonuses”: the capering hypeman in a band otherwise defined by stony-faced gravitas.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 6, 2020
As a general rule, Jackman is better when in capering motion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2019
By the time you read this, who knows what weirdness will have snapped loose and gone capering through the news cycle.
From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2018
I must be closer to her if I am to get the strangler into her cup, yet howl Patchface was capering about as the maester made his slow way around the table to Davos Seaworth.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
