1. A small container
   "The time capsule was buried for future generations to discover"
    
2. A pill in the form of a small rounded gelatinous container with medicine inside
   "He swallowed the capsule with a glass of water"
    
3. A dry dehiscent seed vessel or the spore-containing structure of e.g. mosses
   "The poppy's capsule contains thousands of tiny seeds"
    
4. A structure that encloses a body part
   "The joint capsule surrounds and protects the knee joint"
    
5. A spacecraft designed to transport people and support human life in outer space
   "The astronauts returned to Earth in the space capsule";
   - space capsule
    
6. A pilot's seat in an aeroplane that can be forcibly ejected in the case of an emergency; then the pilot descends by parachute
   "The pilot activated the capsule when the engine failed";
   - ejection seat [N. Amer], ejector seat [Brit]
    
7. A shortened version of a written work
   "The magazine provided a capsule summary of the lengthy report";
   - condensation, abridgement, abridgment

1. Enclose in a capsule
   "The pharmacist capsules the medication";
   - capsulate, capsulize, capsulise [Brit]

Derived forms: capsuled, capsules, capsuling

Type of: anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, container, enclose, enfold, envelop, enwrap, lozenge, pericarp, pill, seat, seed vessel, space vehicle, spacecraft, structure, summary, sum-up, tab, tablet, wrap, wrap-up

Part of: cockpit

Encyclopedia: Capsule