Definitions for capital
ˈkæp ɪ tlcap·i·tal

Princeton's WordNet(4.38 / 8 votes)Rate this definition:

1. capital, working capital(noun)

   assets available for use in the production of further assets

2. capital(noun)

   wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value

3. capital(noun)

   a seat of government

4. capital, capital letter, uppercase, upper-case letter, majuscule(noun)

   one of the large alphabetic characters used as the first letter in writing or printing proper names and sometimes for emphasis

   "printers once kept the type for capitals and for small letters in separate cases; capitals were kept in the upper half of the type case and so became known as upper-case letters"

5. capital(noun)

   a center that is associated more than any other with some activity or product

   "the crime capital of Italy"; "the drug capital of Columbia"

6. Capital, Washington(noun)

   the federal government of the United States

7. Das Kapital, Capital(noun)

   a book written by Karl Marx (1867) describing his economic theories

8. capital, chapiter, cap(adj)

   the upper part of a column that supports the entablature

9. capital(adj)

   first-rate

   "a capital fellow"; "a capital idea"

10. capital(adj)

    of primary importance

    "our capital concern was to avoid defeat"

11. capital, great, majuscule(adj)

    uppercase

    "capital A"; "great A"; "many medieval manuscripts are in majuscule script"

Wiktionary(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. capital(Noun)

   Already-produced durable goods available for use as a factor of production, such as steam shovels (equipment) and office buildings (structures).

   He does not have enough capital to start a business.

   Etymology: From capitalis, in sense “head of cattle”, from caput (English cap). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle.

2. capital(Noun)

   Money and wealth. The means to acquire goods and services, especially in a non-barter system.

   Etymology: From capitalis, in sense “head of cattle”, from caput (English cap). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle.

3. capital(Noun)

   A city designated as a legislative seat by the government or some other authority, often the city in which the government is located; otherwise the most important city within a country or a subdivision of it.

   Etymology: From capitalis, in sense “head of cattle”, from caput (English cap). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle.

4. capital(Noun)

   The most important city in the field specified.

   Etymology: From capitalis, in sense “head of cattle”, from caput (English cap). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle.

5. capital(Noun)

   An uppercase letter.

   Etymology: From capitalis, in sense “head of cattle”, from caput (English cap). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle.

6. capital(Noun)

   The uppermost part of a column.

   Etymology: From capitalis, in sense “head of cattle”, from caput (English cap). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle.

7. capital(Noun)

   Knowledge; awareness; proficiency.

   Interpreters need a good amount of cultural capital in order to function efficiently in the profession.

   Etymology: From capitalis, in sense “head of cattle”, from caput (English cap). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle.

8. capital(Adjective)

   of prime importance

   Etymology: From capitalis, in sense “head of cattle”, from caput (English cap). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle.

9. capital(Adjective)

   excellent

   That is a capital idea!

   Etymology: From capitalis, in sense “head of cattle”, from caput (English cap). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle.

10. capital(Adjective)

    Involving punishment by death.

    Etymology: From capitalis, in sense “head of cattle”, from caput (English cap). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle.

11. capital(Adjective)

    uppercase

    One begins a sentence with a capital letter.

    Etymology: From capitalis, in sense “head of cattle”, from caput (English cap). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle.

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Capital(noun)

   of or pertaining to the head

   Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

2. Capital(noun)

   having reference to, or involving, the forfeiture of the head or life; affecting life; punishable with death; as, capital trials; capital punishment

   Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

3. Capital(noun)

   first in importance; chief; principal

   Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

4. Capital(noun)

   chief, in a political sense, as being the seat of the general government of a state or nation; as, Washington and Paris are capital cities

   Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

5. Capital(noun)

   of first rate quality; excellent; as, a capital speech or song

   Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

6. Capital(noun)

   the head or uppermost member of a column, pilaster, etc. It consists generally of three parts, abacus, bell (or vase), and necking. See these terms, and Column

   Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

7. Capital(noun)

   the seat of government; the chief city or town in a country; a metropolis

   Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

8. Capital(noun)

   money, property, or stock employed in trade, manufactures, etc.; the sum invested or lent, as distinguished from the income or interest. See Capital stock, under Capital, a

   Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

9. Capital(adj)

   that portion of the produce of industry, which may be directly employed either to support human beings or to assist in production

   Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

10. Capital(adj)

    anything which can be used to increase one's power or influence

    Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

11. Capital(adj)

    an imaginary line dividing a bastion, ravelin, or other work, into two equal parts

    Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

12. Capital(adj)

    a chapter, or section, of a book

    Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

13. Capital(adj)

    see Capital letter, under Capital, a

    Etymology: [Cf. L. capitellum and capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Capital

   kap′it-al, adj. relating to the head: involving the loss of the head; chief: principal: excellent.—n. the head or top part of a column or pillar: the chief or most important thing: the chief city of a country: a large letter, such as used on title-pages, &c.: the stock or money for carrying on any business.—n. Capitalisā′tion, the act of converting into capital: printing with capital letters.—v.t. Cap′italīse, to convert into capital or money.—ns. Cap′italism, condition of possessing capital: the economic system which generates capitalists; Cap′italist, one who has capital or money.—adv. Cap′itally, chiefly: principally: excellently: by capital punishment.—adj. Cap′itate (bot.), growing in or shaped like a head.—ns. Capitā′tion, a numbering of every head or individual: a tax on every head; Capite (kap′it-i), an ancient English tenure (Shak.).—Circulating or Floating capital consists of the wages paid to the workmen, and of the raw material used up in the processes of industry, &c.; Fixed capital consists of buildings, machines, tools, &c.—Hold lands in capite, to hold them directly from the sovereign.—Make capital out of, to turn to advantage. [O. Fr. capitel—L. capitalis—caput, the head.]

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. capital

   In technical fortification, is an imaginary line bisecting the salient angle of a work.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. capital

   A form of money, property or assets.

   The capital costs were easily defined and managed.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 14, 2020  

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. capital

   Song lyrics by capital -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by capital on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'capital' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #734

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'capital' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1253

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'capital' in Nouns Frequency: #309

How to pronounce capital?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say capital in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of capital in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of capital in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of capital in a Sentence

1. James McLelland:

   We are not giving any credence to honor, but approach it as capital murder. Whatever the motivation was, is for him to explain. The end result is the same.

2. Chen Bo:

   Hebei is enjoying favorable financing support due to its proximity to the capital and the urgency of cleaning up air pollution.

3. Christina Sideri:

   At some point this is going to end, we can't have capital controls forever, the banks can't be closed forever. Let's hope for something better.

4. Sadiq Khan:

   Berlin and Paris start from a low base, and frankly speaking can only go one way, london is different to the rest of the UK. Our underlying strengths - we're the financial capital of the country, the cultural and political capital - that's not going to change.

5. Benjamin Netanyahu:

   This decision reflects the president’s commitment to an ancient but enduring truth, the president’s decision is an important step toward peace, for there is no peace that doesn’t include Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Images & Illustrations of capital

Popularity rank by frequency of use