What does capital mean?

Definitions for capital
ˈkæp ɪ tlcap·i·tal

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word capital.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. capital, working capitalnoun

    assets available for use in the production of further assets

  2. capitalnoun

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

  3. capitalnoun

    a seat of government

  4. capital, capital letter, uppercase, upper-case letter, majusculenoun

    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. capitalnoun

    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, Washingtonnoun

    the federal government of the United States

  7. Das Kapital, Capitalnoun

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

  8. capital, chapiter, capadjective

    the upper part of a column that supports the entablature

  9. capitaladjective

    first-rate

    "a capital fellow"; "a capital idea"

  10. capitaladjective

    of primary importance

    "our capital concern was to avoid defeat"

  11. capital, great, majusculeadjective

    uppercase

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

Wiktionary

  1. capitalnoun

    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.

  2. capitalnoun

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

  3. capitalnoun

    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.

  4. capitalnoun

    The most important city in the field specified.

  5. capitalnoun

    An uppercase letter.

  6. capitalnoun

    The uppermost part of a column.

  7. capitalnoun

    Knowledge; awareness; proficiency.

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

  8. capitaladjective

    of prime importance

  9. capitaladjective

    excellent

    That is a capital idea!

  10. capitaladjective

    Involving punishment by death.

  11. capitaladjective

    uppercase

    One begins a sentence with a capital letter.

  12. 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.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. CAPITALadjective

    Etymology: capitalis, Lat.

    Needs must the serpent now his capital bruise
    Expect with mortal pain. Paradise Lost, b. xii. l. 383.

    Edmund, I arrest thee
    On capital treason. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

    Several cases deserve greater punishment than many crimes that are capital among us. Jonathan Swift.

    In capital causes, wherein but one man’s life is in question, the evidence ought to be clear; much more in a judgment upon a war, which is capital to thousands. Francis Bacon.

    I will, out of that infinite number, reckon but some that are most capital, and commonly occurrent both in the life and conditions of private men. Edmund Spenser, on Ireland.

    As to swerve in the least points, is errour; so the capital enemies thereof God hateth, as his deadly foes, aliens, and, without repentance, children of endless perdition. Richard Hooker.

    They are employed by me, and do, in themselves, tend to confirm the truth of a capital article in religion. Francis Atterbury.

    This had been
    Perhaps thy capital seat, from whence had spread
    All generations; and had hither come,
    From all the ends of th’ earth, to celebrate
    And reverence thee, their great progenitor. Par. Lost, b. xi.

    Our most considerable actions are always present, like capital letters to an aged and dim eye. Jeremy Taylor, Rule of Living holy.

    The first whereof is written in capital letters, without chapters or verses. Nehemiah Grew, Cosmologia Sacra.

  2. Capitalnoun

    Etymology: from the adjective.

    You see the volute of the Ionick, the foliage of the Corinthian, and the uovali of the Dorick, mixed, without any regularity, on the same capital. Joseph Addison, on Italy.

ChatGPT

  1. capital

    Capital refers to the financial assets, such as funds, property, and machinery, that individuals or businesses possess and use to produce goods or services. It is usually obtained through investments, savings, or by borrowing, and is considered as a key factor in generating profit or wealth. In a broader socio-economic sense, it could also refer to anything that enhances one's ability to perform economically useful work.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Capitalnoun

    of or pertaining to the head

  2. Capitalnoun

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

  3. Capitalnoun

    first in importance; chief; principal

  4. Capitalnoun

    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

  5. Capitalnoun

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

  6. Capitalnoun

    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

  7. Capitalnoun

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

  8. Capitalnoun

    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

  9. Capitaladjective

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

  10. Capitaladjective

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

  11. Capitaladjective

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

  12. Capitaladjective

    a chapter, or section, of a book

  13. Capitaladjective

    see Capital letter, under Capital, a

  14. 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

  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. capitaliscaput, the head.]

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. capital

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

Editors Contribution

  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

  1. capital

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

  2. Capital

    Capital vs. Capitol -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Capital and Capitol.

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?

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. Mark Luschini:

    This is a fertile environment for M&A activity, where low cost to capital is probably going to pull forward more deals.

  2. Chairman Giuseppe Recchi:

    We reject the logic that foreign investments in Telecom Italia are dangerous: whoever brings capital and know-how contributes to make our company stronger, regardless of whether the investor is Italian or a foreigner.

  3. Sramana Mitra:

    They are basically force-feeding capital into these companies, i expect there will be a lot more deaths by overfunding.

  4. Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison:

    Our collaboration with the US Marshals Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force and participation in joint operations like Operation Washout reflect our ongoing partnership and commitment to apprehending some of the most violent offenders and taking them off the streets, this operation demonstrated our ongoing efforts in working with all of our law enforcement partners at the federal, state and local level in creating a safer Baltimore.

  5. Brock Silvers:

    China is seeing deep foreign capital outflows as doubts increase regarding its basic investability.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

capital#1#1163#10000

Translations for capital

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • kapitaalAfrikaans
  • حرف كبير, رأس مال, رأسمالArabic
  • бага́цце, капіта́лBelarusian
  • гла́вна бу́ква, главен, капите́л, капита́л, основенBulgarian
  • capital, capitell, excel·lent, majúscula, lletra majúsculaCatalan, Valencian
  • kapitál, velké písmeno, hlaviceCzech
  • cyfalafWelsh
  • Kapital, Großbuchstabe, Groß-, großartig, KapitellGerman
  • κεφάλαιο, κιονόκρανο, κεφαλαίος, κεφαλαιώδηςGreek
  • capital, mayúscula, excelente, capitelSpanish
  • kapital, kapiteelEstonian
  • سرمایهPersian
  • mahtava, versaalikirjain, pääasiallinen, iso, versaali, fantastinen, iso kirjain, suurenmoinen, pääoma, majuskeli, ensisijainen, loistava, kapiteeliFinnish
  • capital, majuscule, chapiteau, excellentFrench
  • caipiteal, ceannlitirIrish
  • airgead-calpaScottish Gaelic
  • capitalGalician
  • bun-argidManx
  • הוןHebrew
  • राजधानीHindi
  • tőke, nagybetű, oszlopfőHungarian
  • կապիտալ, մեծատառArmenian
  • modal, kapitalIndonesian
  • kapitaloIdo
  • höfuðborgIcelandic
  • capitale, eccellente, magnifico, maiuscola, maiuscolo, splendido, ottimo, principale, capitelloItalian
  • 素晴らしい, 優れた, 資本, 大文字, 致命的, 柱頭, 主要, 主Japanese
  • კაპიტალი, დიდი ასო, ასომთავრულიGeorgian
  • қаражатKazakh
  • ಬಂಡವಾಳKannada
  • 가장 중요한, 어퍼케이스, 資本, 대사, 자본, 대문자, 사형, 최상의, 大文字, 최고의Korean
  • urbeLatin
  • pūmatua, moni haupū, moni haupū rawaMāori
  • капиталMacedonian
  • മരണ ശിക്ഷ, മൂലധനംMalayalam
  • modalMalay
  • excellent, uitstekend, kapiteel, kapitaal, hoofd-, hoofd(letter), hoofdletter, dood(straf)Dutch
  • kapitał, duża litera, wielka litera, nagłówekPolish
  • capital, [[letra]] [[maiúscula]], excelente, maiúsculo, capitel, fundamental, maiúsculaPortuguese
  • capital, chapital, chapitêlRomansh
  • capitalRomanian
  • капита́л, основной, главный, загла́вная бу́ква, заглавный, капите́ль, отличный, больша́я бу́ква, бога́тство, превосходный, капитальный, прописна́я бу́ква, большой, состоя́ниеRussian
  • капитал, kapitalSerbo-Croatian
  • kapitálSlovak
  • kapitalSlovene
  • kapitalAlbanian
  • versal, kapital, stor bokstav, huvudsakligSwedish
  • పెట్టుబడి, సంపదTelugu
  • kabisera, kapitalTagalog
  • anapara, kapital, büyük, anamal, büyük harf, sermayeTurkish
  • бага́тство, капіта́лUkrainian
  • سرمایہUrdu
  • tư bản, chính, vốnVietnamese
  • mayudik, mayud, katädVolapük

Get even more translations for capital »

Translation

Find a translation for the capital definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"capital." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/capital>.

Discuss these capital definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for capital? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    cross-fertilization in plants
    A schlockmeister
    B rung
    C allogamy
    D mealie

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for capital: