cap

The children were all wearing caps to protect them from the sun.

A close-fitting hat, either brimless or peaked.

A special hat to indicate rank, occupation, etc.

He took the cap off the bottle and splashed himself with some cologne.

He had golden caps on his teeth.

There was snow on the cap of the mountain.

We should put a cap on the salaries, to keep them under control.

The G7 countries have agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil in an attempt to stem the flow of funds into the Kremlin’s war coffers. […] The level of the cap is still being discussed.

2022 September 2, Alex Lawson, “G7 countries agree plan to impose price cap on Russian oil”, in The Guardian:

Billy spent all morning firing caps with his friends, re-enacting storming the beach at Normandy.

(toy) A small amount of percussive explosive in a paper strip or plastic cup for use in a toy gun.

He wired the cap to the bundle of dynamite, then detonated it remotely.

A small explosive device used to detonate a larger charge of explosives.

Did he think they were going to put a cap in his ass right in the middle of Metreon?

2001, Charles Jade, Jade goes to Metreon:

no cap

that’s cap

(slang, originally African-American Vernacular) A lie or exaggeration.

Rio Ferdinand won his 50th cap for England in a game against Sweden.

"By the way, are you by any chance the Malone who is expected to get his Rugby cap for Ireland?" "A reserve, perhaps."

1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

Overall, though, England’s injury-diminished side coped well on the night when Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jordan Pickford and Tammy Abraham all won their first caps.

2017 November 10, Daniel Taylor, “Youthful England earn draw with Germany but Lingard rues late miss”, in The Guardian (London):

(sports) A place on a national team; an international appearance.

Thou art the Cap / Of all the Fooles aliue.

c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 93, column 2:

(obsolete) The top, or uppermost part; the chief.

He that will give a cap and make a leg, in thanks for a favour he never received, deserveth rather to be blamed for want of wit, than to be praised for store of manners.

1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church History of Britain, from the Birth of Jesus Christ until the Year MDCXLVIII, volume 1, London: Thomas Tegg and Son, published 1837, page 9:

(obsolete) A respectful uncovering of the head.

(zoology) The whole top of the head of a bird from the base of the bill to the nape of the neck.

the cap of a column, door, etc.; a capital, coping, cornice, lintel, or plate

(architecture) The uppermost of any assemblage of parts.

Something covering the top or end of a thing for protection or ornament.

(nautical) 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.

(geometry) A portion of a spherical or other convex surface.

flat cap; foolscap; legal cap

5′ cap

something covering the top or end of a thing

nalli

small amount of explosive used as detonator

Inherited from Middle English cappe, from Old English cæppe, from Late Latin cappa, itself from Latin caput. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *káput- and Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“head”). Doublet of cape, chape, and cope.


cap

(transitive) To cover or seal with a cap.

(transitive) To award a cap as a mark of distinction.

(transitive) To lie over or on top of something.

to cap wages

It recalls the business case for Scotland's reopening of the Borders Railway to Tweedbank, that British Rail closed in 1969. The review says the business case for this was at best borderline, but goes on to say that the case greatly underestimated passenger demand and that the railway Scotland built has capped its capacity.

2023 September 6, Philip Haigh, “£30 billion plan to transform the rail network in Ireland”, in RAIL, number 991, page 25:

(transitive) To set (or reach) an upper limit on something.

That really capped my day.

(transitive) To make something even more wonderful at the end.

(transitive, cricket) To select a player to play for a specified side.

If he don’t get outta my hood, I’m gonna cap his ass.

In a school shooting, where some kid caps a bunch of other kids, where did he get the weapon? From a family member, probably their gun cabinet.

(transitive, slang) To shoot (someone) with a firearm.

"How? Didn’t I cap for you, an’ square you with the examinin’ board? Didn’t I stake you to the three hundred dollars?"

1906, Alfred Henry Lewis, “Confessions of a Detective”, in Confessions of a Detective, New York: A.S. Barnes & Company, page 36:

It’s over for you capping-ass rappers—get out the game / You can fool the record labels, but not the streets, man

2003, Antwan Patton et al. (lyrics and music), “Tomb of the Boom”, in Speakerboxxx, performed by OutKast:

(intransitive, slang, originally African-American Vernacular) To lie; to tell a lie.

Peter Shilton is the most capped English footballer.

(transitive, sports) To select to play for the national team.

Tom never miſsed a lecture, and capped the proctor with the profoundeſt of bows.

1852, William Makepeace Thackeray, “I Go to Cambridge, and Do But Little Good There”, in The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. […] , volume I, London: […] Smith, Elder, & Company, […], →OCLC, page 231:

(transitive, obsolete) To salute by uncovering the head respectfully.

As if one going to diſtrain upon his own Land or Tenement, where lawfully he may; yet if in doing thereof, he tranſgreſs the leaſt Point of the Common Law, he ſtraight committeth Felony. Or if one, by any other Occaſion, take any thing from another, as Boys uſe ſometimes to cap one another, the ſame is ſtraight Felony.

1596, Edmund Spenser, A View of the State of Ireland as It Was in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, Dublin: Laurence Flin, published 1763, page 50:

en-verb

cap (third-person singular simple present caps, present participle capping, simple past and past participle capped)

caps (present singular third-person)
capping (participle present)
capped (participle past)
capped (past)


cap

parasitic caps

I had to replace the caps in that thing to get it to work again.

Anyone have a cap of the games last night?

1996 December 9, Fox [username], “Anyone has a cap of yesterday's irc-convention on undernet ?”, in alt.paranet.ufo (Usenet):

If you have a cap of Gabby's bare butt from the "forget me not" episode please post or mail it...

1998 September 26, Mr Hanky [username] <meister_hanky@hotmail.com>, “req: does anyone have a cap of Gabby's behind from "Forget Me Not"”, in alt.tv.xena (Usenet), retrieved 2016-08-07:

Here's a cap of Jennifer from her latest Letterman appearance […]

1998 April 27, Johan [username], “Jennifer on Letterman”, in alt.fan.jen-aniston (Usenet), retrieved 2016-08-07:

Please be assured that when I do get around to capping the Brits, there will NOT be one single cap of that slutty bitch, her whorishness has dropped to even lower levels than before.

2000 March 4, RichieH [username], “Please somebody get a cap of Faye from steps at the Brits!!!!!!!!”, in alt.tv.shaggable.babes (Usenet):

(colloquial) A recording or screenshot.(shortening of "capture").

Glass bottles of liquid LSD; moist blocks of Manali charras and Malana cream; sachets of smack; a hundred caps of MDMA and a phial of Australian DMT; ampoules of medical morphine and a dense pad of four thousand Californian blotters.


cap

(transitive, informal) To convert text to uppercase.

I've capped in VCD format, so will eventually post it to abme (I've since found out that it's a bit OT for this group)

2001 December 3, Methos [username], alt.fan.televisionx (Usenet):

Please tell me someone capped it!!!!

2002 June 11, test . com Ground Hog [username], alt.luser.recovery (Usenet):

If I had a method of capping from video tapes there's a movie that I can no longer remember the name of which has a single scene with Racquel and Derrick as a newly married couple having sex under the lustful eyes of Joey Silvera.

2003 February 18, jacuk [username], alt.fan.pornstar.darrian (Usenet):

(transitive) To take a screenshot or to record a copy of a video.

Call your friends and bring a gun / The Halo revolution's on / Capping flags and arming bombs / Yes, we don't blink until we're done

2007 November 20, Greg Haupt, “LvUrFR3NZ”, in Halo 3 Original Soundtrack, performed by Princeton, Sumthing Else Music Works:

(transitive, video games) To take capture an objective, such as a flag or checkpoint.


cap

(obsolete) A wooden drinking-bowl with two handles.

From Scots cap, an alteration of earlier cop, from Middle English cop, from Old English copp (“a cup, vessel”), from Proto-West Germanic *kopp, from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz.