Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: TOYS

Date: 900-1000
Language: Late Latin
Origin: cappa 'covering for the head, cloak', perhaps from Latin caput 'head'

cap

1 noun
     
cap
cap1 S3 [countable]
1

hat

a) DCC 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) DCC 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
cap
2

covering

a protective covering that you put on the end or top of an object [= 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 sports person 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 sports person who has played for his or her country:
Mason is one of two new caps in the team.
5DHT

small explosive

a small paper container with explosive inside it, used especially in toy guns
6

sex

MB a contraceptive made of a round piece of rubber that a woman puts inside her vagina [= 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)
Definition of cap from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic TOYS
Word of the Day
The TOYS
Word of the Day is:
whirligig

Other related topics