cap
1a close-fitting covering for the head, usually of soft supple material and having no visor or brim.
a brimless head covering with a visor, as a baseball cap.
a mobcap.
a headdress denoting rank, occupation, religious order, or the like: a nurse's cap.
Mathematics. the symbol ∩, used to indicate the intersection of two sets.: Compare intersection (def. 3a).
anything resembling or suggestive of a covering for the head in shape, use, or position: a cap on a bottle.
a maximum limit, as one set by law or agreement on prices, wages, spending, etc., during a certain period of time; ceiling: a 9 percent cap on pay increases for this year.
Mycology. the pileus of a mushroom.
Botany. calyptra (def. 1).
Mining. a short, horizontal beam at the top of a prop for supporting part of a roof.
British Sports. a selection for a representative team, usually for a national squad.
a noise-making device for toy pistols, made of a small quantity of explosive wrapped in paper or other thin material.
Nautical. a fitting of metal placed over the head of a spar, as a mast or bowsprit, and having a collar for securing an additional spar.
a new tread applied to a worn pneumatic tire.
Architecture. a capital.
Carpentry. a metal plate placed over the iron of a plane to break the shavings as they rise.
Fox Hunting. capping fee.
Chiefly British Slang. a contraceptive diaphragm.
to provide or cover with or as if with a cap.
to complete.
Fox Hunting. to hunt with a hunting club of which one is not a member, on payment of a capping fee.
Idioms about cap
cap in hand, humbly; in supplication: He went to his father cap in hand and begged his forgiveness.
set one's cap for, to pursue as being a potential mate.
Origin of cap
1Other words from cap
- capless, adjective
Other definitions for cap (2 of 7)
Usually caps . uppercase: Please set the underlined in caps.
to write or print in capital letters, or make an initial letter a capital; capitalize.
Origin of cap
2Other definitions for cap (3 of 7)
Origin of cap
3Other definitions for CAP (4 of 7)
Common Agricultural Policy: a coordinated system established in 1960 by the European Economic Community for stabilizing prices of farm products of its member countries.
computer-aided publishing.
Stock Exchange. convertible adjustable preferred (stock).
- Also C.A.P. (for defs. 1, 2, 4) .
Other definitions for cap. (5 of 7)
(in prescriptions) let the patient take.
Origin of cap.
5Other definitions for cap. (6 of 7)
chapter.
Origin of cap.
6Other definitions for cap. (7 of 7)
capacity.
capital.
capitalize.
capitalized.
capital letter.
foolscap.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use cap in a sentence
The companies also need to add additional RNA — a cap and tail — flanking the spike protein instructions to make the molecule stable and readable in human cells.
Here’s why COVID-19 vaccines like Pfizer’s need to be kept so cold | Tina Hesman Saey | November 20, 2020 | Science NewsA thick, knitted cap like Madewell’s wool cuffed beanie will prevent your ears from falling off when that chilly northern wind hits you.
The hottest gifts to buy for the friend who’s always cold | Sandra Gutierrez G. | November 20, 2020 | Popular-ScienceSome of the states most populous jurisdictions, including Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, have taken that restriction further and imposed formal caps.
Maryland’s coronavirus numbers are going up. Here’s what you need to know. | Erin Cox | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostIn a salary cap system that prioritizes young, cheap talent, undrafted free agents are the youngest and the cheapest.
For undrafted NFL rookies, the odds were even longer this year. Isaiah Wright made it anyway. | Sam Fortier | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostI’ve had the caps of otherwise bomber products completely shatter after one waist-high drop.
When they are full, many landfills are capped—covered with asphalt or concrete.
Snow-capped mountains emerge gently into view in the distance, covered in pine trees at the highest elevations.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley | Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman | November 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTGriffin screen-capped a series of direct messages that are allegedly from him.
Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire Posts Pro-Palestine Photo, Allegedly Cyberbullies Israeli-Born MTV VJ | Robert Silverman | July 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt capped a miserable British summer of sport which also saw the country eliminated from the World Cup in the group stages.
Murray Crashes Out Of Wimbledon As Kate And William Watch | Tom Sykes | July 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWas there ever an alternate fate for Hank, or was he always going to get capped in the desert?
From ‘Breaking Bad’ to Benjamin Franklin: Dean Norris on Life After Hank Schrader | Marlow Stern | June 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAt the foot of the pass, the valley widened a little, though still with steep, snow-capped cliffs crowding it on either side.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyI would not just then have traded off that steamboat for several square miles of snow-capped sublimity.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyBefore us, miles away, all capped with clouds of gold and red was the sunset country, but still beyond the mountains.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson LloydAnd lo, this Olympian being, this unfathomable man, descended from his cloud-capped heights and held out his hand to Tchaikovsky.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky | Modeste TchaikovskyFrom the middle rises the fortress of the Kremlin, the many churches send up a forest of dome-capped towers.
Ways of War and Peace | Delia Austrian
British Dictionary definitions for cap (1 of 3)
/ (kæp) /
a covering for the head, esp a small close-fitting one made of cloth or knitted
such a covering serving to identify the wearer's rank, occupation, etc: a nurse's cap
something that protects or covers, esp a small lid or cover: lens cap
an uppermost surface or part: the cap of a wave
See percussion cap
a small amount of explosive enclosed in paper and used in a toy gun
sport, mainly British
an emblematic hat or beret given to someone chosen for a representative team: he has won three England caps
a player chosen for such a team
the upper part of a pedestal in a classical order
the roof of a windmill, sometimes in the form of a dome
botany the pileus of a mushroom or toadstool
hunting
money contributed to the funds of a hunt by a follower who is neither a subscriber nor a farmer, in return for a day's hunting
a collection taken at a meet of hounds, esp for a charity
anatomy
the natural enamel covering a tooth
an artificial protective covering for a tooth
an upper financial limit
a mortarboard when worn with a gown at an academic ceremony (esp in the phrase cap and gown)
meteorol
the cloud covering the peak of a mountain
the transient top of detached clouds above an increasing cumulus
cap in hand humbly, as when asking a favour
if the cap fits British the allusion or criticism seems to be appropriate to a particular person
set one's cap for or set one's cap at (of a woman) to be determined to win as a husband or lover
to cover, as with a cap: snow capped the mountain tops
informal to outdo; excel: your story caps them all; to cap an anecdote
to cap it all to provide the finishing touch: we had sun, surf, cheap wine, and to cap it all a free car
sport, British to select (a player) for a representative team: he was capped 30 times by Scotland
to seal off (an oil or gas well)
to impose an upper limit on the level of increase of (a tax, such as the council tax): rate-capping
hunting to ask (hunt followers) for a cap
mainly Scot and NZ to award a degree to
Origin of cap
1Derived forms of cap
- capper, noun
British Dictionary definitions for CAP (2 of 3)
Common Agricultural Policy: (in the EU) the system for supporting farm incomes by maintaining agricultural prices at agreed levels
British Dictionary definitions for cap. (3 of 3)
capital
capitalize
capitalization
capital letter
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with cap
In addition to the idioms beginning with cap
- cap and gown
- cap in hand
- cap it all
also see:
- feather in one's cap
- hat (cap) in hand
- if the shoe (cap) fits, wear it
- put on one's thinking cap
- set one's cap for
Also see underhat.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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