caper

¹

[key-per]

verb (used without object)

1. to leap or skip about in a sprightly manner; prance; frisk; gambol.

noun

1. a playful leap or skip.

2. a prank or trick; harebrained escapade.

   Synonyms: antic, stunt

3. a frivolous, carefree episode or activity.

   Synonyms: frolic, spree

4. Slang.,  a criminal or illegal act, as a burglary or robbery.

caper

²

[key-per]

noun

1. a spiny shrub, Capparis spinosa, of Mediterranean regions, having roundish leaves and solitary white flowers.

2. its flower bud, which is pickled and used for garnish or seasoning.

caper

¹

/ ˈkeɪpə /

noun

1. a playful skip or leap

2. a high-spirited escapade

3. 1. to skip or jump playfully

   2. to act or behave playfully; frolic

4. slang,  a crime, esp an organized robbery

5. informal,  a job or occupation

6. informal,  a person's behaviour

verb

1. (intr) to leap or dance about in a light-hearted manner

caper

²

/ ˈkeɪpə /

noun

1. a spiny trailing Mediterranean capparidaceous shrub, Capparis spinosa, with edible flower buds

2. any of various similar plants or their edible parts See also bean caper capers

Other Word Forms

• caperer noun
• caperingly adverb
• uncapering adjective

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of caper¹

C16: probably from _capriole

Origin of caper²

C15: from earlier capers, capres (assumed to be plural), from Latin capparis, from Greek kapparis

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. cut a caper. cut.

Example Sentences

Don’t forget the recently completed fifth season of the spy caper “Slow Horses,” which leaned more into dark comedy and may have been its best and most well-balanced season yet.

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Somewhere a gang of crooks is plotting a complicated caper they are certain they can pull off.

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Co-written and directed by Rebecca Zlotowski with comic undertones, it’s a caper about an American therapist living in France who suspects she hasn’t been told the truth about a patient’s demise.

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Yet what is being marketed as a funny caper grows increasingly bleak.

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Controversy at the Smithsonian, a Jazz Age caper from Thomas Pynchon, Rome’s long history and more.

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