- 1 a type of soft flat hat with a peak (= a hard curved part sticking out in front). Caps are worn especially by men and boys, often as part of a uniform a school cap see also baseball cap, cloth cap, mob cap Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveschool, shower, skull, … verb + capdoff, tip cap + nounbadge See full entry See related entries: Accessories
- 2 (usually in compounds) a soft hat that fits closely and is worn for a particular purpose a shower cap Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveschool, shower, skull, … verb + capdoff, tip cap + nounbadge See full entry
- 3a soft hat with a square flat top worn by some university teachers and students at special ceremonies compare mortar board in sport
- 4(British English) a cap given to somebody who is chosen to play for a school, country, etc.; a player chosen to play for their country, etc. He won his first cap (= was first chosen to play) for England against France. There are three new caps in the side. on pen/bottle
- 5a cover or top for a pen, bottle, etc. a lens cap see also filler cap, hubcap Synonymslidtop cork cap plugThese are all words for a cover for a container.lid a cover over a container that can be removed or opened by turning or lifting it:a jar with a tight-fitting lidtop a thing that you put over the end of something such as a pen or bottle in order to close itcork a small round object made of cork or plastic that is used for closing bottles, especially wine bottlescap (often in compounds) a top for a pen or a protective cover for something such as the lens of a cameraplug a round piece of material that you put into a hole in order to block it; a flat round rubber or plastic thing that you put into the hole of a sink in order to stop the water from flowing out:a bath plugPatterns a tight-fitting lid/top/cap a screw top/cap a pen lid/top to put on/screw on/take off/unscrew the lid/top/cap to pull out the cork/plug Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebottle, hub, lens, … verb + capput on, screw on, remove, … See full entry on tooth
- 6an artificial cover for a damaged tooth synonym crown He needed four caps for his teeth after the accident. limit on money
- 7an upper limit on an amount of money that can be spent or borrowed by a particular institution or in a particular situation The government has placed a cap on local council spending. in toy guns
- 8a small paper container with explosive powder inside it, used especially in toy guns for woman
- 9(British English) = diaphragm (2) on mountain/wave
- 10the top of a mountain or a wave Purple mist sat below the snowy mountain caps. see also ice cap, thinking cap Word OriginOld English cæppe ‘hood’, from late Latin cappa, perhaps from Latin caput ‘head’.Extra examples The bottle has a screw cap. The safety cap should be completely waterproof. a baseball cap a cloth cap a petrol cap a soldier’s/nurse’s/chauffeur’s cap a swimming capIdioms
hat
an action that you can be proud of This idiom comes from the Native American custom of giving a feather to somebody who had been very brave in battle. See related entries: Proud
to ask somebody for something, especially money, in a very polite way that makes you seem less important There’s no way he’ll go cap in hand to his brother.
if the cap fits (, wear it) (British English) (North American English if the shoe fits (, wear it)) jump to other results
Check pronunciation: cap
