1. A close-fitting hat, either without a brim or with a peak
   "He wore a baseball cap to shield his eyes from the sun"
    
2. Something serving as a cover or protection
   "The tooth had a gold cap"
    
3. A top (as for a bottle)
   "He struggled to remove the childproof cap from the medicine bottle"
    
4. An upper limit on what is allowed
   "they established a cap for prices";
   - ceiling, roof
    
5. A protective covering that is part of a plant
   "The mushroom's cap expanded as it matured";
   - hood
    
6. A fruiting structure resembling an umbrella or a cone that forms the top of a stalked fleshy fungus such as a mushroom
   "The cap of the mushroom was bright red with white spots";
   - pileus
    
7. A mechanical or electrical explosive device or a small amount of explosive; can be used to initiate the reaction of a disrupting explosive
   "The demolition team placed caps to trigger the main charge";
   - detonator, detonating device
    
8. (dentistry) dental appliance consisting of an artificial crown for a broken or decayed tooth
   "tomorrow my dentist will fit me for a cap";
   - crown, crownwork, jacket, jacket crown
    
9. The upper part of a column that supports the entablature
   "The Corinthian cap was elaborately decorated with acanthus leaves";
   - capital, chapiter [archaic]
    
10. [US, slang] A lie or exaggeration
    "That story sounds like cap to me"

1. Finish or complete, as with some decisive action
   "he capped off the meeting with a radical proposal";
   - cap off [informal]
    
2. Restrict the number or amount of
   "We had to cap the number of people we can accept into our club"
    
3. Lie at the top of
   "Snow capped the mountains";
   - crest
    
4. Top or seal with a cover; put a cap on
   "He capped the bottle of soda"
    
5. Surpass or outdo
   "Her performance capped all previous records"

Derived forms: caps, capped, capping

Type of: circumscribe, confine to, control, cover, covering, dental appliance, explosive device, finish off, finish up, get through, headdress, headgear, headwear, lie, limit, mop up, natural covering, plant part, plant structure, polish off [informal], protection, protective cover, protective covering, top, wrap up [informal]

Part of: column, flora, fungus, pillar, plant, plant life

Encyclopedia: Cap