I. cap 1 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
2 .
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 ↑ feather 1 (2), ⇨ if the cap fits (, wear it) at ↑ fit 1 (8), ⇨ put your thinking cap on at ↑ thinking 1 (3)
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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.
II. cap 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle capped , present participle capping ) [transitive]
1 . COVER be capped with something to have a particular substance on top:
a graceful tower capped with a golden dome
magnificent cliffs capped by lovely wild flowers
2 . LIMIT [often passive] to limit the amount of something, especially money, that can be used, allowed, or spent:
the only county to have its spending capped by the government
3 . GOOD/BAD to say, do, or be something that is better, worse, or more extreme than something that has just happened or been said:
Well, we went three nights with no sleep at all. I bet you can’t cap that!
4 . be capped by something to have something very good or very bad at the end of an event:
a fabulous weekend, capped by dinner in the Times Square Hotel
5 . SPORT [usually passive] British English to choose someone for a national sports team:
He’s been capped three times for England.
6 . to cap it all (off) British English spoken used before a statement to say that something is the last in a series of annoying, unpleasant, or funny events:
To cap it all, the phones didn’t work, and there was no hot water.
7 . snow-capped, white-capped etc with snow on top, with white on top etc:
snow-capped mountains
8 . TOOTH to cover a tooth with a special hard white substance:
He’s had his teeth capped.