What does "cap" mean?
A close-fitting hat, either brimless or peaked.
Usage Contextslangcasual
Note: May be unclear outside social media audiences.
Cap
/kæp/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A close-fitting hat, either brimless or peaked.
- Grammar: cap is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: ceiling, acme, apex, apogee.
- Useful contrasts: uncapped, bare head, begin.
- Usage evidence: I put on a cap when I go to school.
How to use "cap"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cap" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cap" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cap" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cap" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A close-fitting hat, either brimless or peaked.
"The children were all wearing caps to protect them from the sun."
- 2 Capitalization.
- 3 A wooden drinking-bowl with two handles. obsolete
- 4 Initialism of conservation action plan. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 5 Clipping of Capricorn. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, informal
"Caps are also naturally inclined towards stability and security—they're totally different from noncommittal Sagittarius men. If you're looking for someone who's ready to commit rather than stay in a situationship, odds are that he might be a Capricorn."
Show 43 more definitions
- 6 a tight-fitting headdress wordnet
- 7 A special hat to indicate rank, occupation, etc.
- 8 A capital letter. informal
- 9 Initialism of catabolite activator protein. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 10 a top (as for a bottle) wordnet
- 11 An academic mortarboard.
- 12 A capacitor.
"parasitic caps"
- 13 Initialism of community-acquired pneumonia. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 14 something serving as a cover or protection wordnet
- 15 A protective cover or seal.
"He took the cap off the bottle and splashed himself with some cologne."
- 16 Clipping of capture; a recording or screenshot. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, colloquial
"Anyone have a cap of the games last night?"
- 17 Initialism of consistency, availability, partition-tolerance, three irreconcilable guarantees in distributed systems, a result known as Brewer's theorem. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 18 the upper part of a column that supports the entablature wordnet
- 19 A crown for covering a tooth.
"He had golden caps on his teeth."
- 20 A capsule of a drug. slang
"Glass bottles of liquid LSD; moist blocks of Manali charras and Malana cream; sachets of smack; a hundred caps of MDMA and a phial of Australian DMT; ampoules of medical morphine and a dense pad of four thousand Californian blotters."
- 21 Initialism of combat air patrol. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 22 (dentistry) dental appliance consisting of an artificial crown for a broken or decayed tooth wordnet
- 23 The summit of a mountain, etc.
"There was snow on the cap of the mountain."
- 24 A capitalist. colloquial
- 25 Initialism of change acceleration process. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 26 a mechanical or electrical explosive device or a small amount of explosive; can be used to initiate the reaction of a disrupting explosive wordnet
- 27 An artificial upper limit or ceiling.
"We should put a cap on the salaries, to keep them under control."
- 28 A capillary.
- 29 Initialism of colors and placements. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 30 an upper limit on what is allowed wordnet
- 31 The top part of a mushroom.
- 32 A caption.
- 33 a protective covering that is part of a plant wordnet
- 34 A small amount of percussive explosive in a paper strip or plastic cup for use in a toy gun.
"Billy spent all morning firing caps with his friends, re-enacting storming the beach at Normandy."
- 35 a fruiting structure resembling an umbrella or a cone that forms the top of a stalked fleshy fungus such as a mushroom wordnet
- 36 A small explosive device used to detonate a larger charge of explosives.
"He wired the cap to the bundle of dynamite, then detonated it remotely."
- 37 A bullet used to shoot someone. slang
"Did he think they were going to put a cap in his ass right in the middle of Metreon?"
- 38 A lie or exaggeration. slang
"no cap"
- 39 A place on a national team; an international appearance.
"Rio Ferdinand won his 50th cap for England in a game against Sweden."
- 40 The top, or uppermost part; the chief. obsolete
"Thou art the Cap / Of all the Fooles aliue."
- 41 A respectful uncovering of the head. obsolete
"He that will give a cap and make a leg, in thanks for a favour he never received, deserveth rather to be blamed for want of wit, than to be praised for store of manners."
- 42 The whole top of the head of a bird from the base of the bill to the nape of the neck.
- 43 The uppermost of any assemblage of parts.
"the cap of a column, door, etc.; a capital, coping, cornice, lintel, or plate"
- 44 Something covering the top or end of a thing for protection or ornament.
- 45 A collar of iron or wood used in joining spars, as the mast and the topmast, the bowsprit and the jib boom; also, a covering of tarred canvas at the end of a rope.
- 46 A portion of a spherical or other convex surface.
- 47 A large size of writing paper.
"flat cap; foolscap; legal cap"
- 48 Popcorn. Appalachia
Verb
- 1 To cover or seal with a cap. transitive
- 2 To convert text to uppercase. informal, transitive
- 3 restrict the number or amount of wordnet
- 4 To award a cap as a mark of distinction. transitive
- 5 To take a screenshot or to record a copy of a video. transitive
"I've capped in VCD format, so will eventually post it to abme (I've since found out that it's a bit OT for this group)"
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 lie at the top of wordnet
- 7 To lie over or on top of something. transitive
- 8 To capture an objective, such as a flag or checkpoint. transitive
"Call your friends and bring a gun / The Halo revolution's on / Capping flags and arming bombs / Yes, we don't blink until we're done"
- 9 To surpass or outdo. transitive
- 10 To capitulate (cause to capitulate) an opponent. intransitive, transitive
- 11 To set (or reach) an upper limit on something. transitive
"to cap wages"
- 12 To conclude; to make something even more wonderful at the end. figuratively, transitive
"That really capped my day."
- 13 To select a player to play for a specified side. transitive
- 14 To shoot (someone) with a firearm. slang, transitive
"If he don’t get outta my hood, I’m gonna cap his ass."
- 15 To lie; to tell a lie. intransitive, slang
""How? Didn’t I cap for you, an’ square you with the examinin’ board? Didn’t I stake you to the three hundred dollars?""
- 16 To select to play for the national team. transitive
"Peter Shilton is the most capped English footballer."
- 17 To salute by uncovering the head respectfully. obsolete, transitive
"Tom never miſsed a lecture, and capped the proctor with the profoundeſt of bows."
- 18 To deprive of a cap.
"As if one going to diſtrain upon his own Land or Tenement, where lawfully he may; yet if in doing thereof, he tranſgreſs the leaſt Point of the Common Law, he ſtraight committeth Felony. Or if one, by any other Occaſion, take any thing from another, as Boys uſe ſometimes to cap one another, the ſame is ſtraight Felony."
Slang
- 1 A lie or exaggeration. slang, internet, 2010s-2020s
"That story is cap."
Proper Noun
- 1 Initialism of Common Agricultural Policy. European-Union, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
"The fact remains that if Ukraine joins, the CAP budget will either have to be increased dramatically or will evaporate, given the sheer area of agricultural land in Ukraine (it’s bigger than the whole of Italy), with the average farm taking up about 1,000 hectares compared to 16 hectares in the rest of the EU."
- 2 A nickname for the captain of a team, ship, etc.
""But listen, Cap!" he protested, momentarily falling out of his role as Midshipman Hornblower. "I haven't got any place else to go! This is where I sleep, where else do you want me to write my letters?""
- 3 Initialism of Civil Air Patrol. US, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 4 A nickname for a man generally.
"‘Hi Cap! Is that the moving picture ship?’"
- 5 Initialism of Colleague Assistance Program. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Example
"I put on a cap when I go to school."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cap"?
Common synonyms include: ceiling, acme, apex, apogee, arsenic limit standard, ascender.
How do you use "cap" in a sentence?
I put on a cap when I go to school.
How do you pronounce "cap"?
Pronounced /kæp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English cappe, from Old English cæppe, from Proto-West Germanic *kappā (“covering, hood, mantle”), from Late Latin cappa, itself from Latin caput. Doublet of cape, chape, and cope.
Etymology 2
Various clippings.
Etymology 3
From Scots cap, an alteration of earlier cop, from Middle English cop, from Old English copp (“a cup, vessel”), from Proto-West Germanic *kopp, from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz.
Etymology 4
Clipping of captain.
Etymology 5
Clipping of Capricorn.