cap

views updated Jun 11 2018

cap1 / kap/ • n. 1. a kind of soft, flat hat without a brim, and sometimes having a visor. ∎  a kind of soft, close-fitting head covering worn for a particular purpose or as a mark of a particular profession or status: a bathing cap. ∎  an academic mortarboard: graduates in cap and gown.2. a protective lid or cover for an object such as a bottle or a camera lens. ∎  Dentistry an artificial protective covering for a tooth. ∎  the top of a bird's head when distinctively colored. ∎  the broad upper part of the fruiting body of most mushrooms and toadstools, at the top of a stem.3. an upper limit imposed on spending or other activities: a cap on legal immigration.4. short for percussion cap.• v. (capped, cap·ping) [tr.] 1. put a lid or cover on: he capped his pen. ∎  (often be capped) form a covering layer or top part of: several towers were capped by domes| [as adj. , in comb.] (-capped) snow-capped mountains. ∎  put an artificial protective covering on (a tooth). ∎  provide a fitting climax or conclusion to: he capped a memorable season by becoming champion. ∎  follow or reply to (a story, remark, or joke) by producing a better or more apposite one: they capped each other's stories.2. (often be capped) place a limit or restriction on (prices, expenditure, or other activity).PHRASES: cap (or hat) in hand humbly asking for a favor: we have to go cap in hand begging for funds.set one's cap for (or at) dated (of a woman) try to attract (a particular man) as a suitor.DERIVATIVES: cap·ful / -ˌfoŏl/ n. (pl. -fuls) .cap2 / kap/ • n. Finance short for capitalization: mid-cap companies | small-cap stocks.

cap

views updated May 23 2018

cap.
1. Abbreviation of capital

2. Capital, cope, cornice, or crowning or terminal feature, fitting closely on any member, or extending beyond it in horizontal dimensions. Cap-moulding is the cornice-like finish of a dado, pedestal, door-lintel, handrail, or other architectural feature.

3. Domical roof on a windmill.

cap

views updated May 21 2018

cap cap and bells the insignia of the professional jester.
cap of liberty a conical cap given to Roman slaves on emancipation, often used as a Republican symbol.
cap of maintenance a cap or hat worn as a symbol of dignity, or carried before a monarch on ceremonial occasions.
if the cap fits, wear it used with reference to the assumed suitability of a name or description to a person's behaviour. An earlier related reference in N. Breton's Pasquil's Fools-Cap (1600), makes it clear that the cap was originally a dunce's cap. (Compare if the shoe fits, wear it.) The saying is recorded from the mid 18th century.

cap

views updated May 14 2018

cap OE. cæppe — late L. cappa, poss. f. L. caput head; cf. CAPE 1.
Hence as vb. XV.

CAP

views updated May 18 2018

CAP • abbr. Civil Air Patrol.

cap

views updated May 23 2018

cap See pileus.

cap

views updated May 29 2018

cap See PILEUS.

cap

views updated May 08 2018

cap See PILEUS.

cap

views updated May 11 2018

cap (kap) n. a covering or a cover-like part.