cap

[ kap ]

/ kæp /

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noun

a 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.

mortarboard (def. 2).

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.

summit; top; apex; acme.

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.

a percussion cap.

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.

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

to provide or cover with or as if with a cap.

to complete.

follow up with something as good or better; surpass; outdo: to cap one joke with another.

to serve as a cap, covering, or top to; overlie.

to put a maximum limit on (prices, wages, spending, etc.).

British Sports. to select (a player) for a representative team.

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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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

First recorded before 1000; Middle English cappe “headdress, hat, cap,” Old English cæppe “hood, cape, cope,” from Late Latin cappa “hooded cloak, cap”; cf. cape¹

OTHER WORDS FROM cap

capless, adjective

Other definitions for cap (2 of 7)

cap²

[ kap ]

/ kæp /

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

First recorded in 1895–1900; by shortening

Other definitions for cap (3 of 7)

cap³

[ kap ]

/ kæp /

noun Slang.

a capsule, especially of a narcotic drug.

Origin of cap

First recorded in 1940–45; by shortening of capsule

Other definitions for cap (4 of 7)

CAP

abbreviation

Civil Air Patrol.

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)

cap.¹

abbreviation

(in prescriptions) let the patient take.

Origin of cap.

From the Latin word capiat

Other definitions for cap (6 of 7)

cap.²

abbreviation

chapter.

Origin of cap.

From Latin capitulum “small head, capital of a column, cross beam” or Latin caput “head, to, summit, person”

Other definitions for cap (7 of 7)

cap.³

abbreviation

capacity.

capital.

capitalize.

capitalized.

capital letter.

foolscap.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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 News
A 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-Science
Some 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 Post
In 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 Post

I’ve had the caps of otherwise bomber products completely shatter after one waist-high drop.
How to Choose the Right Water Bottle for You|Joe Jackson|November 17, 2020|Outside Online
When they are full, many landfills are capped—covered with asphalt or concrete.
Garbage In, Power Out|The Daily Beast|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Griffin 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|DAILY BEAST
It 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|DAILY BEAST
Was 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|DAILY BEAST
At 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 Greeley
I would not just then have traded off that steamboat for several square miles of snow-capped sublimity.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
Before 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 Lloyd
And 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 Tchaikovsky
From 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)

cap

/ (kæp) /

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

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 teamhe 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

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

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

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 forms of cap

capper, noun

Word Origin for cap

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

British Dictionary definitions for cap (2 of 3)

CAP

abbreviation for

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)

cap.

abbreviation for

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

Medical definitions for cap (1 of 2)

cap

[ kăp ]

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

Medical definitions for cap (2 of 2)

CAP

abbr.

catabolite gene activator protein

Other Idioms and Phrases with cap

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.

cap

Idioms about cap

Origin of cap

OTHER WORDS FROM cap

Other definitions for cap (2 of 7)

Origin of cap

Other definitions for cap (3 of 7)

Origin of cap

Other definitions for cap (4 of 7)

Other definitions for cap (5 of 7)

Origin of cap.

Other definitions for cap (6 of 7)

Origin of cap.

Other definitions for cap (7 of 7)

Words related to cap

How to use cap in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cap (1 of 3)

Derived forms of cap

Word Origin for cap

British Dictionary definitions for cap (2 of 3)

British Dictionary definitions for cap (3 of 3)

Medical definitions for cap (1 of 2)

Medical definitions for cap (2 of 2)

Other Idioms and Phrases with cap