caper
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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capers,
present (3rd person singular)
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capered,
past participle, past
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capering
present participle
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
-
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:
This week, we learned about a presidential caper.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
Wodehouse caper: “Jacqui Cutler trudged into her expansive kitchen, looking every bit as worn out and miserable as someone who had spent the morning digging potatoes, which she most certainly had not.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
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
Sometimes his happiness was so overflowing that he couldn’t hold it and he’d cut a dance caper to spill some of it out.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Comedy capers like this usually deflate in the third act when their pleasures get punctured by unfunny gunfire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
They’re an invitation to save the pickle juice, embrace the capers and discover just how much life can be hiding in the bottom of a jar.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026
Wild king salmon topped with tomatoes, olives and capers was accessorized with a puff pastry in the shape of a cartoon fish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 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
Elvis impersonators capered all over the Nicolas Cage comedy “Honeymoon in Vegas,” part of a running shtick.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 15, 2017
Proud of its burden, the horse tossed its head and capered, while Hamlet acknowledged the crowd with grand gestures.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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
That capering, shifty Jordan Poole’s 31 points came off the bench.
From Washington Post ● May 3, 2022
A capering figure silhouette on the door depicted Rich Uncle Pennybags, the Monopoly Man.
From New York Times ● Aug. 19, 2021
This ensemble piece, a communal chorus of witnessing, had a capering quality in the theater as it summoned Till back to life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2020
“No; only of my cares,” he shouted gaily, capering about with the children clinging delightedly to him.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
