cap

1 noun (C)

1 HAT

a) a type of soft flat hat that has a curved part sticking out at the front

b) a covering that fits very closely to your head and is worn for a particular purpose: a swimming cap | a shower cap

c) a special type of hat that is worn by a particular profession or group of people: a nurse's cap

2 TOP/COVERING a protective covering that you put on the end or top of an object: Make sure that you put the cap back on that pen.

-see also: ice cap, toecap

3 go cap in hand (to) to ask someone for something, especially money, in a very polite way that makes you seem unimportant: going cap in hand to the bank for a loan

4 if the cap fits spoken used to say that someone should regard a remark as criticism of them if they think that the criticism is suitable: I never said you were a liar, but if the cap fits...

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

6 LIMIT an upper limit that is put on the amount of money that can be spent or borrowed in a particular situation: a cap on local council spending

7 SEX a contraceptive made of a round piece of rubber that a woman puts inside her vagina

8 set your cap at old-fashioned if a woman sets her cap at a man, she tries to attract him, especially in order to marry him

-see also: a feather in your cap feather 1 (2), put your thinking cap on thinking 1 2 verb capped, capping (T)

1 to say or do something that is better, worse, funnier etc than what someone else has just said or done: She capped my story with an hilarious account of the party.

2 to cap it all spoken used before describing the worst, funniest etc part at the end of a story or description: And to cap it all, I found I'd left my purse at home!

3 be capped with to have a particular substance on top: snow-capped mountains | a graceful tower capped with a gilded dome

4 BrE to choose someone for a national sports team: He's been capped three times for England.

5 to cover a tooth with a special white substance

6 BrE to put a limit on the amount of money that can be charged or spent, especially by local government