Meaning & use
capital
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The main city of a country or region where its government sits.
Grammar: Has a plural: the capitals of Europe.
Patterns
- the capital of something
Paris is the capital of France.
Tourists crowd the capital in summer.
Which city is the state capital?
noununcountablefinancebusiness
Money or assets used to start a business or produce more wealth.
Grammar: Not used with a: we need more capital.
Patterns
- raise capital
- invest capital in something
The start-up raised capital from private investors.
She lacked the capital to open a second shop.
Working capital pays for daily expenses.
nouncountable
A letter written in its large form, such as A rather than a.
Grammar: Often plural: write your name in capitals.
Patterns
- in capitals
Please write your surname in capitals.
Each sentence begins with a capital.
The sign was printed in bold capitals.
adjectivebefore a nounlegalformal
Punishable by death, as in a serious crime.
Grammar: Goes before a noun: capital punishment.
Patterns
- capital offense
- capital punishment
Treason was once a capital crime.
The state abolished capital punishment.
He was charged with a capital offense.
adjectivecomparableold-fashionedBritish
Excellent or first-rate, said cheerfully.
Grammar: Sounds old-fashioned: a capital idea.
Patterns
- a capital idea
What a capital idea!
We had a capital time at the fair.
The old colonel pronounced it a capital dinner.
Word forms
| plural | capitals |
|---|
Common combinations
- raise capital
- The firm needs to raise capital for expansion.
- capital city
- The capital city has a population of two million.
- capital letter
- Begin names with a capital letter.
- capital punishment
- Opinions on capital punishment are divided.
- venture capital
- The software firm lived on venture capital.
Synonyms and how they differ
- funds
- Funds are money for a purpose, while capital means money working to produce profit.
- assets
- Assets includes all property of value, not just money used in business.
- seat of government
- This phrase focuses on where the government sits, while capital is the main city.
- uppercase
- Uppercase is the printing term for capital letters.
Opposites
Word family
- capitalize verb
- to write with a capital or take advantage of
- capitalism noun
- an economic system based on private capital
- capitalist noun
- someone who invests capital for profit
- capitalization noun
- use of capital letters, or a company's financial value
Commonly confused: capital or capital vs. capitol?
capital vs capital vs. capitol
A capitol is a building where a legislature meets; capital is the city, money or letter.
Practice
Washington, D.C. is the ___ of the United States, while the building where Congress meets is the Capitol.
Choose one answer.
The capital is the main city. The Capitol is the legislative building, which is why the question needs the other spelling.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “capital”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.