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definitions

cap

1
[kap]
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cap ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used with object), capped, cap·ping.

verb (used without object), capped, cap·ping.

Fox Hunting. to hunt with a hunting club of which one is not a member, on payment of a capping fee.

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RELATED WORDS

exceed, finish, complete, beat, cover, clinch, crown, surpass, eclipse, transcend, trump, top, excel, better, outshine, can, outstrip, pass, surmount, crest

Idioms

    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

1
before 1000; Middle English cappe, Old English cæppe < Late Latin cappa hooded cloak, cap; cf. cape1
Related formscap·less, adjective

cap

2
[kap]

noun

a capital letter.
Usually caps. uppercase: Please set the underlined in caps.

verb (used with object), capped, cap·ping.

to write or print in capital letters, or make an initial letter a capital; capitalize.

Origin of cap

2
First recorded in 1895–1900; by shortening
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for capped

Contemporary Examples of capped

Historical Examples of capped

  • Something that happened just then capped the climax of Maurice's misery.

    The Downfall

    Emile Zola

  • The sky was overcast, and the heads of the mountains were capped with mist.

    The Scapegoat

    Hall Caine

  • At that time, however, the range was capped with rolling mists of the morning.

  • The hills are capped with snow, although the season is so forward.

    New Italian sketches

    John Addington Symonds

  • Then it stopped, and a capped and goggled head was thrust out of the tonneau.

    Shoe-Bar Stratton

    Joseph Bushnell Ames

British Dictionary definitions for capped

cap

noun

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, etca nurse's cap
something that protects or covers, esp a small lid or coverlens cap
an uppermost surface or partthe cap of a wave
  1. See percussion cap
  2. a small amount of explosive enclosed in paper and used in a toy gun
sport, mainly British
  1. an emblematic hat or beret given to someone chosen for a representative teamhe has won three England caps
  2. 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
  1. 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
  2. a collection taken at a meet of hounds, esp for a charity
anatomy
  1. the natural enamel covering a tooth
  2. an artificial protective covering for a tooth
See Dutch cap (def. 2)
an upper financial limit
a mortarboard when worn with a gown at an academic ceremony (esp in the phrase cap and gown)
meteorol
  1. the cloud covering the peak of a mountain
  2. 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

verb caps, capping or capped (tr)

to cover, as with a capsnow capped the mountain tops
informal to outdo; excelyour story caps them all; to cap an anecdote
to cap it all to provide the finishing touchwe had sun, surf, cheap wine, and to cap it all a free car
sport, British to select (a player) for a representative teamhe 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
Derived Formscapper, noun

Word Origin for cap

Old English cæppe, from Late Latin cappa hood, perhaps from Latin caput head

CAP

abbreviation for

Common Agricultural Policy: (in the EU) the system for supporting farm incomes by maintaining agricultural prices at agreed levels
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
Word Origin and History for capped

cap

v.

c.1400, "to put a cap on," from cap (n.). Meaning "cover as with s cap" is from c.1600. Figurative sense of "go one better" is from 1580s. Related: Capped; capping.

cap

n.

late Old English cæppe "hood, head-covering, cape," from Late Latin cappa "a cape, hooded cloak" (source of Spanish capa, Old North French cape, French chape), possibly a shortened from capitulare "headdress," from Latin caput "head" (see head (n.)).

Meaning "women's head covering" is early 13c. in English; extended to men late 14c. Figurative thinking cap is from 1839 (considering cap is 1650s). Of cap-like coverings on the ends of anything (e.g. hub-cap) from mid-15c. Meaning "contraceptive device" is first recorded 1916. That of "cap-shaped piece of copper lined with gunpowder and used to ignite a firearm" is c.1826; extended to paper version used in toy pistols, 1872 (cap-pistol is from 1879).

The Late Latin word apparently originally meant "a woman's head-covering," but the sense was transferred to "hood of a cloak," then to "cloak" itself, though the various senses co-existed. Old English took in two forms of the Late Latin word, one meaning "head-covering," the other "ecclesiastical dress" (see cape (n.1)). In most Romance languages, a diminutive of Late Latin cappa has become the usual word for "head-covering" (e.g. French chapeau).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for capped

cap

[kăp]

n.

A protective cover or seal, especially one that closes off an end or a tip and that resembles a close-fitting head covering.

CAP

abbr.

catabolite gene activator protein
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Idioms and Phrases with capped

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.