cap1

noun

• 1a kind of soft, flat hat without a brim and typically with a peak: a man wearing a raincoat and a flat cap figurativeher cap of dark hair
• [with adjective or noun modifier] a kind of soft, close-fitting head covering worn for a particular purpose:a shower cap a bathing cap
• British a cap awarded as a sign of membership of a particular sports team, especially a national team:he has won three caps for Scotland
• British a player to whom a cap is awarded:a former naval officer and rugby cap
• an academic mortar board:school-leavers in cap and gown

• 2a protective lid or cover for an object such as a bottle, the point of a pen, or a camera lens: a glass bottle with a screw cap a lens cap from a camera
• an artificial protective covering for a tooth.
• the top of a bird’s head when distinctively coloured.

• 3an upper limit imposed on spending or borrowing:he raised the cap on local authority spending

• 4 (also Dutch cap) British informal a contraceptive diaphragm.

• 5the broad upper part of the fruiting body of most mushrooms and toadstools, at the top of a stem and bearing gills or pores.

• 6short for percussion cap.

verb (caps, capping, capped)

• 1put a lid or cover on:he capped his pen
• form a covering layer or topmost part of: (as adjective, in combination -capped)snow-capped mountains
• put an artificial protective covering on (a tooth): (as adjective capped)his smile revealed perfectly capped teeth

• 2provide a fitting climax or conclusion to:he capped a memorable season by becoming champion of champions
• follow or reply to (a story, remark, or joke) by producing a better one: he prayed no wit would cap his remark with some repartee

• 3British place a limit or restriction on (prices, expenditure, or borrowing):council budgets will be capped

• 4 (be capped) British be chosen as a member of a particular sports team, especially a national one:he was capped ten times by England

• 5Scottish & NZ confer a university degree on.