cap1 /kap/ noun- A flat brimless hat, usu with a peak
- Formerly, a woman's light head covering, usu worn indoors and made from lace, fine linen, etc
- An official or symbolic headdress or one appropriated to a special class or use, academic, athletic, etc
- An occasion of being selected for esp a national team, symbolized by a cap
- A person so selected
- The enamel which covers a tooth (anatomy)
- An artificial covering for a tooth, replacing the natural enamel
- A caplike covering of any kind
- The top of a toadstool
- The uppermost or terminal part of anything
- A percussion cap for a toy gun, etc
- A collection of money taken at a fox hunt (orig in a cap) for hunt servants, charity, etc
- (also Dutch cap) a contraceptive diaphragm
transitive verb (cappˈing; capped /kapt/)- To cover the end or top of
- To touch with a cap in conferring a degree (chiefly Scot and NZ)
- To select as a member of a team
- To outdo or surpass by following with something better, more significant, etc
- To seal off and halt the flow from (an oil or gas well)
- To set a limit to (esp local authority budgets)
transitive verb and intransitive verb To salute by raising the cap ORIGIN: OE cæppe, from LL cappa a cape or cope capˈful noun (pl capˈfuls) cappˈer noun cappˈing noun - The action of the verb cap
- A covering, eg a hard crust that forms on soil during dry weather
- A graduation ceremony (informal)
capˈ-case noun (obsolete) A small travelling-case, a chest capˈ-paper noun - A kind of wrapping paper
- A size of writing paper
cap pistol noun A toy gun using a percussion cap cap rock noun A stratum of (usu impervious) rock overlying oil- or gas-bearing strata cap screw noun A bolt with a threaded shaft and cylindrical head with a hexagonal indentation for turning it cap sleeve noun A short sleeve, just covering the shoulder capˈstone noun - A coping-stone
- The top or finishing stone of a structure
- A stone slab laid flat over the top of a cist (archaeology)
- The horizontal stone of a dolmen (archaeology)
- A flat stone acting as a cap, eg to a shaft or chimney
black cap see under black cap and bells The insignia of a professional jester cap and collar mortgage One having a minimum (collar) and maximum (cap) rate of interest cap in hand - Submissively
- Supplicatingly
cap of liberty The conical cap, usu made of red material, given to a Roman slave on enfranchisement, and adopted during the French revolution as an emblem of freedom, now the symbol of republicanism cap of maintenance see under maintain cap verses To quote verses in turn, according to rule college cap A mortarboard or trencher cap set one's cap at (of a woman) to set oneself to captivate (a man) the cap fits The allusion is felt to apply throw up one's cap To make this gesture (lit or figurative) in token of immoderate joy to cap it all As a (frequently unpleasant) climax |