capo

¹ American  

[key-poh] / ˈkeɪ poʊ /

noun

• capos
  plural

1. any of various devices for a guitar, lute, banjo, etc., that when clamped or screwed down across the strings at a given fret will raise each string a corresponding number of half tones.

2. the nut of a guitar, lute, banjo, etc.

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capo ² American  

[kah-poh, kap-oh] / ˈkɑ poʊ, ˈkæp oʊ /

noun

• capos
  plural

1. the chief of a branch of the Mafia.

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capo ¹ British  

/ ˈkeɪpəʊ, ˈkæpəʊ /

noun

1. Also called: capo tasto.  a device fitted across all the strings of a guitar, banjo, etc, so as to raise the pitch of each string simultaneously Compare barré

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capo ² British  

/ ˈkapo, ˈkæpəʊ /

noun

1. the presumed title of a Mafia leader

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• capos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of capo¹

1875–80; < Italian, shortening of capotasto capotasto

Origin of capo²

1960–65; < Italian: head, leader < Vulgar Latin *capum for Latin caput; cf. chief

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

capo capos

Soprano Hilary Cronin was a dazzling, lyrical Iole, her precisely calibrated da capo arias capturing the princess’s serene acceptance of her lot and her consoling, thoughtful presence—the antithesis of the disturbed Dejanira.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

Sandstrom, a former capo - a fan who leads others in chants - of two Hammarby ultras groups was at a women's game with his young daughter.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2024

Among those sentenced was Salvador Alfonso Martínez Escobedo, a former regional Zeta capo who was known as “The Squirrel” — an apparent reference to his buck teeth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2024

These witnesses and tape recordings confirm that the orders came from the top - from the boss or the capo, or the consigliere of the family.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2023

For example, if you moved counterclockwise by three keys, put the capo at the third fret.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Much of the world still thinks of Latin American organized crime in terms of cut-throat cocaine cartels and cavalier capos like Pablo Escobar.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Mexico has, in the recent past, sent capos, former governors and even a former security minister to the U.S. to face charges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

These boys never formed a hierarchy with foot soldiers reporting to lieutenants, who sat under capos, and on and up.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2024

It reflects a long-standing attitude of indifference and borderline hostility to allies, of viewing them the same way that a Mafia boss regards his capos or clients in a protection racket.

From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2024

Fine gentlemen stand at the club doors or sit within, looking out of the huge windows; the merchants and the students, smoking cigarettes, saunter, wrapped magnificently in their capos.

From The Land of The Blessed Virgin; Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia by W. Somerset (William Somerset) Maugham