cap

I. cap¹ S3 /kæp/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 900-1000; Language: Late Latin; Origin: cappa 'covering for the head, cloak', perhaps from Latin caput 'head']

1. HAT
a) a type of flat hat that has a curved part sticking out at the front, and is often worn as part of a uniform:
a baseball cap
old men in flat caps
a chauffeur’s peaked cap
b) a covering that fits very closely to your head:
a swimming cap
a shower cap
c) a type of simple hat that fits very closely to your head, worn especially by women in the past:
a white lace cap
COVERING a protective covering that you put on the end or top of an object SYN top:
Make sure you put the cap back on the pen.
a bottle cap
3. LIMIT an upper limit that is put on the amount of money that someone can earn, spend, or borrow:
a cap on local council spending
4. SPORT British English
a) if a sportsperson wins a cap or is given a cap, he or she is chosen to play for their country:
He won his first England cap against Wales in 1994.
b) a sportsperson who has played for his or her country:
Mason is one of two new caps in the team.
5. SMALL EXPLOSIVE a small paper container with explosive inside it, used especially in toy guns
6. SEX a ↑contraceptive made of a round piece of rubber that a woman puts inside her ↑vagina SYN diaphragm
7. go cap in hand (to somebody) British English, go hat in hand American English to ask for money or help in a very respectful way, from someone who has a lot more power than you:
Elderly people should receive a heating allowance every winter, instead of having to go cap in hand to the government.
⇨ ↑flat cap, ↑ice cap, ↑kneecap, ↑mob cap, ↑skull cap, ↑toecap, ⇨ a feather in your cap at ↑feather¹(2), ⇨ if the cap fits (, wear it) at ↑fit¹(8), ⇨ put your thinking cap on at ↑thinking¹(3)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ types of cap
▪ a baseball cap (=that people wear for baseball and for fashion) He was wearing a sweater and a baseball cap.
▪ a flat cap (also a cloth cap) British English (=made of cloth with a stiff piece that sticks out at the front) We saw an old man in a jacket and a brown flat cap.
▪ a peaked cap (=worn as part of a uniform) She wore a sailor's peaked cap.
▪ a swimming/bathing cap A swimming cap will stop you getting your hair wet.
▪ a shower cap (=worn to keep your hair dry when having a shower) There was a little bag containing soap, shampoo and a shower cap.
■ verbs
▪ wear a cap He was wearing a baseball cap.
▪ put on/take off/remove your cap He opened the door, took off his cap, and threw it on a hook.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ cover something that is put on or over something else to protect it, for example a piece of metal, plastic, or glass: a manhole cover | the cover that goes over the barbecue
▪ covering a layer of something, or a sheet of something, that covers something else: There was light covering of snow on the ground. | The hard shell acts as a protective covering. | the cloth coverings on the altar
▪ lid a cover for a container such as a pan or a box: the lid of the box | a saucepan lid
▪ top/cap the thing that you put on top of a bottle, tube, or pen, in order to prevent the liquid or other things inside from coming out: I can’t find the cap for the pen. | Put the top back on the milk! | the cap that goes on the toothpaste
▪ cork the top part that you put on top of a bottle of wine: Can you take off the cork for me?
▪ wrapping (also wrap especially American English) a sheet of paper, plastic etc that is put around something in order to cover or protect it: John tore the wrapping off his presents. | The lamp was still in its wrapping.
▪ wrapper a piece of paper or plastic that is put around something you buy, especially a small object: Put the candy wrappers in your pocket. | He took the drinking straw out of its wrapper.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

cap

cap [cap caps capped capping] noun, verb [kæp] [kæp]

noun
HAT
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

2. (usually in compounds) a soft hat that fits closely and is worn for a particular purpose

• a shower cap

3. a soft hat with a square flat top worn by some university teachers and students at special ceremonies

compare mortar board

IN SPORT

4. (BrE) a cap given to sb 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

5. a cover or top for a pen, bottle, etc
• a lens cap

see also filler cap, hubcap

LIMIT ON MONEY

6. an 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

7. a small paper container with explosive powder inside it, used especially in toy guns

FOR WOMAN
8. (BrE) = diaphragm (²)
see also ice cap, thinking cap
more at a feather in your cap at feather _n.
Word Origin:
Old English cæppe ‘hood’, from late Latin cappa, perhaps from Latin caput ‘head’.
Synonyms:
lid
top • cork • cap • plug
These 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 lid
top • a thing that you put over the end of sth such as a pen or bottle in order to close it
cork • a small round object made of cork or plastic that is used for closing bottles, especially wine bottles
cap • (often in compounds) a top for a pen or a protective cover for sth such as the lens of a camera
plug • 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 plug
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
Example Bank:
• 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 cap

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

cap / kæp / noun [ C ] (HAT)

cap

A2 a soft flat hat that has a curved part sticking out at the front, often worn as part of a uniform

See picture clothes 4

a thin hat that stops your hair getting wet when swimming or taking a shower:

a shower/swimming cap

UK a hat given to someone who plays for their national team in a particular sport, or a player who receives this:

Davis has 17 Scottish caps (= has played for Scotland 17 times) .

The team contains five international caps.

cap / kæp / noun [ C ] (COVER)

a small lid or cover:

The camera has a lens cap to protect the lens surface.

an artificial covering on a tooth that protects it

cap / kæp / noun [ C ] UK (BIRTH CONTROL)

→ diaphragm (BIRTH CONTROL)

cap / kæp / noun [ C ] (EXPLOSIVE)

a very small amount of explosive powder in a paper container, used especially in toy guns to produce a loud noise

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

cap

/kæp/
(caps, capping, capped)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

1.
A cap is a soft, flat hat with a curved part at the front which is called a peak. Caps are usually worn by men and boys.
...a dark blue baseball cap.
N-COUNT: oft supp N

2.
A cap is a special hat which is worn as part of a uniform.
...a frontier guard in olive-grey uniform and a peaked cap.
N-COUNT: oft supp N

3.
If a sports player is capped, they are chosen to represent their country in a team game such as football, rugby, or cricket. (BRIT)
Rees, 32, has been capped for England 23 times.
...England’s most capped rugby union player.
VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed

4.
If a sports player represents their country in a team game such as football, rugby, or cricket, you can say that they have been awarded a cap. (BRIT)
Mark Davis will win his first cap for Wales in Sunday’s Test match against Australia.
N-COUNT

5.
If the government caps an organization, council, or budget, it limits the amount of money that the organization or council is allowed to spend, or limits the size of the budget.
The Secretary of State for Environment has the power to cap councils which spend excessively...
VERB: V n

6.
The cap of a bottle is its lid.
She unscrewed the cap of her water bottle and gave him a drink.
N-COUNT

7.
A cap is a circular rubber device that a woman places inside her vagina to prevent herself from becoming pregnant. (BRIT)
N-COUNT

8.
If someone says that a good or bad event caps a series of events, they mean it is the final event in the series, and the other events were also good or bad. (JOURNALISM)
The unrest capped a weekend of right-wing attacks on foreigners.
VERB: V n

9.
If someone’s teeth are capped, covers are fixed over them so that they look better.
He suddenly smiled, revealing teeth that had recently been capped...
I had my teeth capped.
VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, have n V-ed

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

¹cap /ˈkæp/ noun, pl caps [count]
1 a : a small, soft hat that often has a hard curved part (called a visor) that extends out over your eyes
• a Harvard University cap [=a cap that has the name or symbol of Harvard University on it]
• a knit/knitted cap
• his wool/tweed cap
- see also baseball cap
b : a covering for a person's head that is worn for a special purpose
• a shower/bathing cap [=a head covering that people wear to keep their hair dry when they are showering/swimming]
- see also thinking cap
c : a hat that people with particular jobs wear while working
• a painter's cap
• a surgeon's cap, gown, and gloves
2 : a part or object that covers the end or top of something
• a bottle cap
• a lens cap
• a pill bottle with a childproof cap
• Put the cap back on the marker when you are done using it.
3 : a part that forms the top of something
• a bird with a black cap [=a black section of feathers on the top of its head]
• a mushroom cap [=the top part of a mushroom]
4 : a limit on the amount of money that can be spent, given, charged, etc., for something
• a spending cap
• a cap on political donations
• a cap on doctor's fees
5 : a paper or metal container that holds an explosive substance
• a blasting cap
6 informal : a capital letter - usually plural
• e-mails written in all caps
• She signed the letter with her name in caps: KIM.
7 : a hard substance that is shaped to look like a healthy tooth and used to cover a damaged tooth
8 Brit sports
a : an opportunity to play for your school or country
• He won his first cap against Columbia when he was 22.
b : a player chosen to play for a country's team
9 Brit : diaphragm 3
a feather in your cap
- see ¹feather
cap in hand
- see ¹hand
if the cap fits or if the cap fits, wear it Brit
- used to say that something said about a person is true and the person should accept it as true
• They may not like being called careless, but if the cap fits, wear it. [=(US) if the shoe fits, wear it]