Capitol
Americannoun
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the building in Washington, D.C., used by the Congress of the U.S. for its sessions.
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(often lowercase) a building occupied by a state legislature.
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the ancient temple of Jupiter at Rome, on the Capitoline.
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the Capitoline.
noun
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another name for the Capitoline
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the temple on the Capitoline
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the main building of the US Congress
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Also called: statehouse. (sometimes not capital) (in the US) the building housing any state legislature
Commonly Confused
See capital 1.
Etymology
Origin of Capitol
An Americanism first recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin capitōlium, the name of the temple of Jupiter on Capitoline hill, Rome, taken to be a derivative of caput “head”; replacing Middle English capitolie, from Old North French
Explanation
When you march on the state capitol to protest a bill before the legislature, you are assembling outside a building that houses the state government. Use the noun capitol when you're talking about the building where a legislature assembles to govern a state or region. In the United States, each state has an individual capitol building, and the federal government has one too — although when you mention "the Capitol" in Washington, D.C., it is capitalized. Speaking of which, be careful not to confuse capitol with its homophone, capital. Capitol comes from the Latin Capitolium, a famous ancient Roman temple.
Vocabulary lists containing capitol
Some Tricky Homonyms
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Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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President Biden's Inaugural Speech (January 2021)
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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.
Earlier this morning, she was huddled in a room full of men—each brandishing neatly bullet-pointed memos—drumming up talking points about A.I. safety that will soon be disseminated across Capitol Hill.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
When she started the organization, Naughton noted, there were more talk radio hosts on Capitol Hill than scientists and engineers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
It was compared to the 6 January Capitol Hill attack in 2021 in Washington DC.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Stocks of targeted companies historically have dropped when a congressional probe is announced, but the shares then rally on the day of a Capitol Hill hearing, according to the Evercore analysts.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
It needs to look like the Capitol building.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
