Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense caps, present participle capping, past tense, past participle capped
1. countable noun
A cap is a soft, flat hat with a curved part at the front which is called a peak.
...a dark-blue baseball cap.
2. countable noun
A cap is a special hat which is worn as part of a uniform.
...a frontier guard in olive-grey uniform and a peaked cap.
3. verb [usually passive]
If a sports player is capped, they are chosen to represent their country in a team game such as football, rugby, or cricket.
[British]
Rees, 32, has been capped for England 23 times. [beVERB-ed]
...England's most capped rugby union player. [VERB-ed]
4. countable noun
If a sports player represents their country in a team game such as football, rugby,or cricket, you can say that they have been awarded a cap.
[British]
He will win his first cap for Wales in Sunday's Test match against Australia. [+ for]
5. countable noun [adjective NOUN]
You can refer to someone who is representing their country for the first time in ateam game such as football, rugby, or cricket, as a new cap.
[British]
New Zealand - who have one new cap - won last year's fixture 29-9.
6. verb
If the government caps an organization, council, or budget, it limits the amount of money that the organization or council is allowed to spend,or limits the size of the budget.
The Secretary of State for Environment has the power to cap councils which spendexcessively. [VERB noun]
Nearly half of all local councils face being capped. [VERB noun]
cappinguncountable noun
Between 70 and 80 councils face significant spending cuts or capping next year.
7. countable noun
The cap of a bottle is its lid.
She unscrewed the cap of her water bottle and gave him a drink. [+ of]
Synonyms: lid, cork, stopper, cover More Synonyms of cap
8. countable noun
A cap is a circular rubber device that a woman places inside her vagina to prevent herself from becoming pregnant.
[British]
9. verb
If you cap one thing with another, you put the other thing on top.
They had capped the roof with plywood. [VERB noun with noun]
...homemade scones capped with cream. [VERB-ed]
10. See also snow-capped
11. verb
If someone says that a good or bad event caps a series of events, they mean it is the final event in the series, and the otherevents were also good or bad.
[journalism]
The win capped a fine tournament for the Irish team. [VERB noun]
12. verb [usually passive]
If someone's teeth are capped, covers are fixed over them so that they look better.
He suddenly smiled, revealing teeth that had recently been capped. [beVERB-ed]
I had my teeth capped. [have noun VERB-ed]
13. countable noun
A cap is a small amount of explosive that is wrapped in paper. Caps are often used in toy guns.
14. See also ice cap
15.
See cap in hand
More Synonyms of cap
cap in British English1
(kæp)
noun
1.
a covering for the head, esp a small close-fitting one made of cloth or knitted
2.
such a covering serving to identify the wearer's rank, occupation, etc
a nurse's cap
3.
something that protects or covers, esp a small lid or cover
lens cap
4.
an uppermost surface or part
the cap of a wave
5.
a. percussion cap
b.
a small amount of explosive enclosed in paper and used in a toy gun
6. sport, mainly British
a.
an emblematic hat or beret given to someone chosen for a representative team
he has won three England caps
b.
a player chosen for such a team
7.
the upper part of a pedestal in a classical order
8.
the roof of a windmill, sometimes in the form of a dome
9. botany
the pileus of a mushroom or toadstool
10. hunting
a.
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
b.
a collection taken at a meet of hounds, esp for a charity
11. anatomy
a.
the natural enamel covering a tooth
b.
an artificial protective covering for a tooth
12. Dutch cap (sense 2)
13.
an upper financial limit
14.
a mortarboard when worn with a gown at an academic ceremony (esp in the phrase cap and gown)
15. meteorology
a.
the cloud covering the peak of a mountain
b.
the transient top of detached clouds above an increasing cumulus
16. cap in hand
17. if the cap fits
18. set one's cap for
verbWord forms: caps, capping or capped(transitive)
19.
to cover, as with a cap
snow capped the mountain tops
20. informal
to outdo; excel
your story caps them all
to cap an anecdote
21. to cap it all
22. sport, British
to select (a player) for a representative team
he was capped 30 times by Scotland
23.
to seal off (an oil or gas well)
24.
to impose an upper limit on the level of increase of (a tax)
rate-capping
25. hunting
to ask (hunt followers) for a cap
26. mainly Scottish and New Zealand
to award a degree to
Derived forms
capper (ˈcapper)
noun
Word origin
Old English cæppe, from Late Latin cappa hood, perhaps from Latin caput head
cap in British English2
(kæp)
noun mainly Australian informal
short for cappuccino
CAP in British English
abbreviation for
1. (in the US)
Civil Air Patrol
2. (in the EU)
Common Agricultural Policy: the system for supporting farm incomes by maintainingagricultural prices at agreed levels
cap. in British English
abbreviation for
1.
capital
2.
capitalize
3.
capitalization
4.
capital letter
CAP in American English
Civil Air Patrol
cap in American English1
(kæp) (verbcapped, capping)
noun
1.
a close-fitting covering for the head, usually of soft supple material and having no visor or brim
2.
a brimless head covering with a visor, as a baseball cap
3.
a mobcap
4.
a headdress denoting rank, occupation, religious order, or the like
a nurse's cap
5. "> mortarboard (sense 2)
6. Math
the symbol ∩, used to indicate the intersection of two sets
Compare "> intersection (sense 3a)
7.
anything resembling or suggestive of a covering for the head in shape, use, or position
a cap on a bottle
8.
summit; top; acme
9.
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
10.
the pileus of a mushroom
11. Botany "> calyptra (sense 1)
12. Mining
a short, horizontal beam at the top of a prop for supporting part of a roof
13.
a percussion cap
14. Brit Sport
a selection for a representative team, usually for a national squad
15.
a noise-making device for toy pistols, made of a small quantity of explosive wrapped in paper or other thin material
16. 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
17.
a new tread applied to a worn pneumatic tire
18. Architecture
a capital
19. Carpentry
a metal plate placed over the iron of a plane to break the shavings as they rise
20. Hunting See capping fee
21. chiefly Brit slang
a contraceptive diaphragm
22. See cap in hand
23. See set one's cap for
transitive verb
24.
to provide or cover with or as if with a cap
25.
to complete
26.
to follow up with something as good or better; surpass; outdo
to cap one joke with another
27.
to serve as a cap, covering, or top to; overlie
28.
to put a maximum limit on (prices, wages, spending, etc.)
29. Brit Sport
to select (a player) for a representative team
intransitive verb
30. Hunting
to hunt with a fox-hunting club of which one is not a member, on payment of a capping fee
to write or print in capital letters, or make an initial letter a capital; capitalize
Word origin
[1895–1900; by shortening]
cap in American English3
(kæp)
noun
slang
a capsule, esp. of a narcotic drug
Word origin
[by shortening of capsule]
cap in the Pharmaceutical Industry
(kæp)
Word forms: (regular plural) caps
noun
(Pharmaceutical: Packaging)
A cap is a protective cover or seal, especially one that closes off an end or a tip.
The caps of medicine bottles must be kept firmly closed.
Unscrew the cap of the bottle and pour all the contents into a beaker.
A cap is a protective cover or seal, especially one that closes off an end or a tip.
screw cap
cap in the Oil and Gas Industry
(kæp)
Word forms: (present) caps, (past) capped, (perfect) capped, (progressive) capping
verb
(Extractive engineering: Field development, Drilling)
To cap a well is to seal it off.
On March 24, 1980, the company capped the well by inserting cement plugs.
For some months the gas was allowed to flow freely and then the well was capped with cement.
To cap a well is to seal it off.
More idioms containing
cap
a feather in someone's cap
put your thinking cap on
if the cap fits, wear it
cap in hand
Examples of 'cap' in a sentence
cap
He does not entertain the concept of handing out easy caps.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
One was designed to cap forecast welfare spending.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We have to be very sure that the caps we set are consistent with what our economy needs.
Computing (2010)
Imagine a mushroom cap, it looks like that.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
And he said the 450,000 cap would still put them out of reach for many young people.
The Sun (2017)
That was his 27th cap but his first goal.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
What is a serious threat to our democracy is massive overspending by parties taking advantage of apparent uncertainty over national and local spending caps.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Santa, below Hard hat or tweed cap?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I know you won't like this, but put your thinking cap on.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Trim the brown cap mushrooms and thickly slice.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Would a salary cap on players help?
The Sun (2008)
How is a budget cap going to be policed?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Savers who exceed the annual or lifetime caps could face punitive tax charges.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They all came in their caps for the game.
The Sun (2009)
The banks that must now go cap in hand to taxpayers have been spectacularly mismanaged.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Shampoo and rinse as normal before pouring a bottle cap amount of vinegar all over.
The Sun (2014)
This puts a cap on the exit price that investors realistically can expect to receive.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
He goes to a minor boarding school and wears a rainbow cap and uniform.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We got our funding but other departments had their spending capped.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It was also good to get some new guys their first caps.
The Sun (2006)
Fill the mushroom caps with this mixture and sprinkle with chopped basil.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Set a cap on your lifestyle.
Christianity Today (2000)
The cap will be set each year at the Budget for four years.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
A fault means parts of the cap seal could end up in the liquid - causing a choking hazard.
The Sun (2013)
It's the banners, the flags and the team caps.
The Sun (2015)
She said: 'I am looking forward to wearing the cap and gown.
The Sun (2014)
And to cap things off, I am not alert to their emotional needs.
Bachmann, Susan (editor) & Barth, Melinda Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric and Handbook (1995)
In other languages
cap
British English: cap /kæp/ NOUN
A cap is a soft flat hat usually worn by men or boys.