CAP (capped, capping)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: capped    , capping   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cap mean? 

• CAP (noun)
  The noun CAP has 9 senses:

1. a tight-fitting headdress

2. a top (as for a bottle)

3. a mechanical or electrical explosive device or a small amount of explosive; can be used to initiate the reaction of a disrupting explosive

4. something serving as a cover or protection

5. a fruiting structure resembling an umbrella or a cone that forms the top of a stalked fleshy fungus such as a mushroom

6. a protective covering that is part of a plant

7. an upper limit on what is allowed

8. (dentistry) dental appliance consisting of an artificial crown for a broken or decayed tooth

9. the upper part of a column that supports the entablature

  Familiarity information: CAP used as a noun is familiar.

• CAP (verb)
  The verb CAP has 2 senses:

1. lie at the top of

2. restrict the number or amount of

  Familiarity information: CAP used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CAP (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A tight-fitting headdress

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("cap" is a kind of...):

headdress; headgear (clothing for the head)

Meronyms (parts of "cap"):

earflap; earlap (one of two flaps attached to a cap to keep the ears warm)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cap"):

Balmoral; bluebonnet (a brimless dark blue Scottish cap with a flat top and a plume on one side)

wishing cap (a magical cap that secures whatever one wishes for)

watch cap (a knitted dark blue wool cap worn by seamen in cold or stormy weather)

tam; tam-o'-shanter; tammy (a woolen cap of Scottish origin)

skullcap (rounded brimless cap fitting the crown of the head)

ski cap; stocking cap; toboggan cap (a close-fitting woolen cap; often has a tapering tail with a tassel)

shower cap (a tight cap worn to keep hair dry while showering)

sailor cap (a cap worn by sailors)

pinner (a woman's cap with two long flaps pinned on)

nightcap (a cloth cap worn in bed)

mortarboard (an academic cap with a flat square with a tassel on top)

mobcap (large high frilly cap with a full crown; formerly worn indoors by women)

liberty cap (close-fitting conical cap worn as a symbol of liberty during the French Revolution and in the U.S. before 1800)

kepi; peaked cap; service cap; yachting cap (a cap with a flat circular top and a visor)

Glengarry (a Scottish cap with straight sides and a crease along the top from front to back; worn by Highlanders as part of military dress)

garrison cap; overseas cap (a wedge-shaped wool or cotton cap; worn as part of a uniform)

fez; tarboosh (a felt cap (usually red) for a man; shaped like a flat-topped cone with a tassel that hangs from the crown)

coonskin; coonskin cap (a raccoon cap with the tail hanging down the back)

cockscomb; coxcomb (a cap worn by court jesters; adorned with a strip of red)

cloth cap; flat cap (a flat woolen cap with a stiff peak)

calpac; calpack; kalpac (a high-crowned black cap (usually made of felt or sheepskin) worn by men in Turkey and Iran and the Caucasus)

berretta; biretta; birretta (a stiff cap with ridges across the crown; worn by Roman Catholic clergy)

biggin (a child's tight-fitting cap; often ties under the chin)

beret (a cap with no brim or bill; made of soft cloth)

bathing cap; swimming cap (a tight-fitting cap that keeps hair dry while swimming)

baseball cap; golf cap; jockey cap (a cap with a bill)

balaclava; balaclava helmet (a cap that is close-fitting and woolen and covers all of the head but the face)

kalansuwa (a cap that is wrapped around by a turban and worn by Muslim religious elders)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A top (as for a bottle)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("cap" is a kind of...):

cover; top (covering for a hole (especially a hole in the top of a container))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cap"):

bottlecap (a cap that seals a bottle)

radiator cap (cap on the opening in the top of a radiator through which a coolant liquid can be added)

nipple (a flexible cap on a baby's feeding bottle or pacifier)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A mechanical or electrical explosive device or a small amount of explosive; can be used to initiate the reaction of a disrupting explosive

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

cap; detonating device; detonator

Hypernyms ("cap" is a kind of...):

explosive device (device that bursts with sudden violence from internal energy)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cap"):

blasting cap (a small tube filled with detonating substances; used to detonate high explosives)

percussion cap (a detonator that explodes when struck)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Something serving as a cover or protection

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("cap" is a kind of...):

protection; protective cover; protective covering (a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cap"):

distributor cap (the cap of the distributor that holds in place the wires from the distributor to the spark plugs)

collet; ferrule (a metal cap or band placed on a wooden pole to prevent splitting)

hubcap (cap that fits over the hub of a wheel)

lens cap; lens cover (cap used to keep lens free of dust when not in use)

thimble (a small metal cap to protect the finger while sewing; can be used as a small container)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A fruiting structure resembling an umbrella or a cone that forms the top of a stalked fleshy fungus such as a mushroom

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

cap; pileus

Hypernyms ("cap" is a kind of...):

plant part; plant structure (any part of a plant or fungus)

Holonyms ("cap" is a part of...):

fungus (an organism of the kingdom Fungi lacking chlorophyll and feeding on organic matter; ranging from unicellular or multicellular organisms to spore-bearing syncytia)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A protective covering that is part of a plant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

cap; hood

Hypernyms ("cap" is a kind of...):

cover; covering; natural covering (a natural object that covers or envelops)

Holonyms ("cap" is a part of...):

flora; plant; plant life ((botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion)

Sense 7

Meaning:

An upper limit on what is allowed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

cap; ceiling; roof

Context example:

they established a cap for prices

Hypernyms ("cap" is a kind of...):

control (the economic policy of controlling or limiting or curbing prices or wages etc.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cap"):

glass ceiling (a ceiling based on attitudinal or organizational bias in the work force that prevents minorities and women from advancing to leadership positions)

Derivation:

cap (restrict the number or amount of)

Sense 8

Meaning:

(dentistry) dental appliance consisting of an artificial crown for a broken or decayed tooth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

cap; crown; crownwork; jacket; jacket crown

Context example:

tomorrow my dentist will fit me for a crown

Hypernyms ("cap" is a kind of...):

dental appliance (a device to repair teeth or replace missing teeth)

Domain category:

dental medicine; dentistry; odontology (the branch of medicine dealing with the anatomy and development and diseases of the teeth)

Sense 9

Meaning:

The upper part of a column that supports the entablature

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

cap; capital; chapiter

Hypernyms ("cap" is a kind of...):

top (the upper part of anything)

Holonyms ("cap" is a part of...):

column; pillar ((architecture) a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure)

• CAP (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they cap    ... he / she / it caps   
Past simple: capped   
Past participle: capped   
-ing form: capping   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lie at the top of

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

cap; crest

Context example:

Snow capped the mountains

Hypernyms (to "cap" is one way to...):

lie (be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Restrict the number or amount of

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

We had to cap the number of people we can accept into our club

Hypernyms (to "cap" is one way to...):

circumscribe; confine to; limit (restrict or confine within limits)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

cap (an upper limit on what is allowed)

 Context examples 

The team collected blood samples from the meerkats, and measured DNA sections called telomeres that help protect DNA from damage – much like the plastic caps on shoe-laces.

(Breeder meerkats age faster, but their subordinates still die younger, University of Cambridge)

The cap now has a diameter of about 220 miles (about 350 kilometers).

(Clues about Volcanoes Under Ice on Ancient Mars, NASA)

The subjects sat in a chair facing a computer screen and under a long cone-shaped brain scanning cap.

(Brains may use short rest periods to strengthen memories, National Institutes of Health)

The deposits are exposed in cross section as relatively pure water ice, capped by a layer one to two yards (or meters) thick of ice-cemented rock and dust.

(Steep Slopes on Mars Reveal Structure of Buried Ice, NASA)

This lofty cloud, imaged by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, was part of the winter cap of condensation over Titan's north pole.

(NASA Finds Methane Ice Cloud in Titan's Stratosphere, NASA)

Europe has enforced capping regulations and the World Bank has proposed a ‘user fee’ to be imposed on those buying antibiotics for farm animals.

(Eat less meat to cut drug resistance, SciDev.Net)

Although titanosaurs became one of the most successful dinosaur groups before the mass extinction capping the Age of Dinosaurs, their early evolutionary history remains obscure, and Mnyamawamtuka helps reveal those beginnings.

(New dinosaur with heart-shaped tail offers clues to evolution of Africa's ecosystems, National Science Foundation)

The king had him summoned into his presence, and he came and again had his little cap on his head.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

But to the untrained eye, it can appear similar to the Death cap mushroom A. phalloides.

(New Test Identifies Poisonous Mushrooms, Agricultural Research Service)

The snapshot of Uranus, like the image of Neptune, reveals a dominant feature: a vast bright stormy cloud cap across the north pole.

(Hubble Reveals Dynamic Atmospheres of Uranus, Neptune, NASA)