cap Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a tight-fitting headdress
  2. noun a top (as for a bottle)
  3. noun a mechanical or electrical explosive device or a small amount of explosive; can be used to initiate the reaction of a disrupting explosive
    detonating device; detonator.
  4. noun something serving as a cover or protection
  5. noun a fruiting structure resembling an umbrella or a cone that forms the top of a stalked fleshy fungus such as a mushroom
    pileus.
  6. noun a protective covering that is part of a plant
    hood.
  7. noun an upper limit on what is allowed
    ceiling; roof.
    • he put a ceiling on the number of women who worked for him
    • there was a roof on salaries
    • they established a cap for prices
  8. noun (dentistry) dental appliance consisting of an artificial crown for a broken or decayed tooth
    jacket; jacket crown; crownwork; crown.
    • tomorrow my dentist will fit me for a crown
  9. noun the upper part of a column that supports the entablature
    chapiter; capital.
  10. verb lie at the top of
    crest.
    • Snow capped the mountains
  11. verb restrict the number or amount of
    • We had to cap the number of people we can accept into our club

WordNet

Cap noun
Etymology
OE. cappe, AS. cæppe, cap, cape, hood, fr. LL, cappa, capa; perhaps of Iberian origin, as Isidorus of Seville mentions it first: "Capa, quia quasi totum capiat hominem; it. capitis ornamentum." See 3d Cape, and cf. 1st Cope.
Definitions
  1. A covering for the head; esp. (a) One usually with a visor but without a brim, for men and boys; (b) One of lace, muslin, etc., for women, or infants; (c) One used as the mark or ensign of some rank, office, or dignity, as that of a cardinal.
  2. The top, or uppermost part; the chief.
    Thou art the cap of all the fools alive. Shak.
  3. A respectful uncovering of the head.
    He that will give a cap and make a leg in thanks. Fuller.
  4. (Zoöl.) The whole top of the head of a bird from the base of the bill to the nape of the neck.
  5. Anything resembling a cap in form, position, or use; as: (a) (Arch.) The uppermost of any assemblage of parts; as, the cap of column, door, etc.; a capital, coping, cornice, lintel, or plate. (b) Something covering the top or end of a thing for protection or ornament. (c) (Naut.) 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. (d) A percussion cap. See under Percussion. (e) (Mech.) The removable cover of a journal box. (f) (Geom.) A portion of a spherical or other convex surface.
  6. A large size of writing paper; as, flat cap; foolscap; legal cap.
Cap transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Capped ; present participle & verbal noun Capping
Definitions
  1. To cover with a cap, or as with a cap; to provide with a cap or cover; to cover the top or end of; to place a cap upon the proper part of; as, to cap a post; to cap a gun.
    The bones next the joint are capped with a smooth cartilaginous substance. Derham.
  2. To deprive of cap. Obs. Spenser.
  3. To complete; to crown; to bring to the highest point or consummation; as, to cap the climax of absurdity.
  4. To salute by removing the cap. Slang. Eng.
    Tom . . . capped the proctor with the profoundest of bows. Thackeray.
  5. To match; to mate in contest; to furnish a complement to; as, to cap text; to cap proverbs. Shak.
    Now I have him under girdle I'll cap verses with him to the end of the chapter. Dryden.
    ✍ In capping verses, when one quotes a verse another must cap it by quoting one beginning with the last letter of the first letter, or with the first letter of the last word, or ending with a rhyming word, or by applying any other arbitrary rule may be agreed upon.
Cap intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To uncover the head respectfully. Shak.

Webster 1913