cap

Multiple Entries:
  cap    CAP    cap.  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
cap1

▶noun

• 1 a soft, flat hat without a brim and usually with a peak.

  ■ a soft, close-fitting head covering worn for a particular purpose: a shower cap.

  ■ an academic mortar board.

• 2 a protective lid or cover for a bottle, pen, etc.

  ■ Dentistry an artificial protective covering for a tooth.

• 3 an upper limit imposed on spending or borrowing.

• 4 Brit. a cap awarded to members of a sports team, especially a national team.

• 5 (also Dutch cap) Brit. informal a contraceptive diaphragm.

• 6 the broad upper part of the fruiting body of a mushroom or toadstool.

• 7 short for percussion cap.

▶verb (caps, capping, capped)

• 1 put or form a lid or cover on.

  ■ put a cap on (a tooth).

• 2 provide a fitting climax or conclusion to.

  ■ follow or reply to (a story or remark) with a better one.

• 3 place a limit on (prices, expenditure, etc.).

• 4 (be capped) Brit. be chosen as a member of a sports team, especially a national one.

• 5 Scottish & NZ confer a university degree on.

– phrases
cap in hand (N. Amer. hat in hand) humbly asking for a favour.
cap of liberty a conical cap given to Roman slaves when they were freed, later used as a republican symbol.
cap of maintenance Brit. a cap or hat worn or carried as a symbol of official dignity.
set one's cap at (or US for) dated (of a woman) try to attract (a particular man) as a suitor.
to cap it all as the final unfortunate incident in a long series.

– derivatives
capful noun (pl. capfuls),
capper noun.

– origin OE cæppe ‘hood’, from late L. cappa, perh. from L. caput ‘head’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
cap2

▶noun Finance short for capitalization (see capitalize). [as modifier] small-cap stocks.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
CAP/siːeɪˈpiː/

▶abbreviation Common Agricultural Policy.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
cap./kap/

▶abbreviation

• 1 capacity.

• 2 capital (city).

• 3 capital letter.