📖 C — The English dictionary · page 7

caper — Everyday, meaning 1: A caper is a playful jump or skip.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To caper is to skip, jump and dance about happily.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (informal) A caper is a mischievous trick or prank; «cut capers» means to play about or behave naughtily.↗ Example: The children capered round the tree.↗ · First he whirled round, then he cut all sorts of capers.↗ · They capered with joy when the feast was ready.↗ · The boys were up to their usual capers.↗

capercaillie — Everyday, meaning 1: A very large wild bird of the grouse family that lives in pine forests in Scotland, Scandinavia and other cold parts of Europe and Asia.↗ The males are black and puff out their tails in spring.↗ Example: The capercaillie is the biggest grouse in the world.↗ · Capercaillies live in old Scottish pine forests.↗ · The male capercaillie fanned out his tail.↗ · Only a few capercaillies are left in Scotland.↗ · Keep dogs on a lead so they don't disturb capercaillies.↗

capillary — Everyday, meaning 1: A capillary is the thinnest kind of blood vessel in the body, finer than a hair, that connects arteries and veins.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A capillary is any very thin tube.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Capillary action is the way water moves up through thin tubes or tiny gaps, like in paper or plants.↗ Example: Oxygen passes from the capillaries into your cells.↗ · Capillaries are thinner than a hair.↗ · Water climbed up the paper towel by capillary action.↗ · The celery turned blue because coloured water rose up its tubes.↗ · A bruise forms when tiny capillaries break under the skin.↗ · Blood goes: arteries, capillaries, veins.↗

capital — Everyday, meaning 1: A capital (city) is the city where a country's or state's government is.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A capital (letter) is a big letter, like A, B, C.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Capital is money used to start or run a business.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Capital punishment is the punishment of death (in law).↗ Everyday, meaning 5: Capital can also mean excellent or very good, an old-fashioned word of praise.↗ Example: Paris is the capital of France.↗ · Start every sentence with a capital letter.↗ · Canberra, not Sydney, is the capital of Australia.↗ · Write your name in capitals.↗ · Ottawa is the capital of Canada.↗ · «I» is always a capital letter.↗ · They needed capital to open the bakery.↗ · Albany is the capital of New York State.↗ · Ah, yes; sleep is a capital invention.↗ · And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their capitals, and made fillets for them.↗ (Torah EXO.38.28, JPS 1917)↗ · and the five pillars of it with their hooks; and he overlaid their capitals and their fillets with gold; and their five sockets were of brass.↗ (Torah EXO.36.38, JPS 1917)↗ · And their pillars were four, and their sockets four, of brass; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver.↗ (Torah EXO.38.19, JPS 1917)↗ · And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily-work, four cubits.↗ (Prophets 1KI.7.19, JPS 1917)↗ · Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.↗ (Writings 2CH.3.15, JPS 1917)↗ · He also made nets of checker-work, and wreaths of chain-work, for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars: seven for the one capital, and seven for the other capital.↗ (Prophets 1KI.7.17, JPS 1917)↗

capitalise — Everyday, meaning 1: To write a letter as a capital (A, B, C) or start a word with a capital letter.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To use a situation to get an advantage: «capitalise on a mistake».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (money) To provide money (capital) for a business.↗ Example: Remember to capitalise the first word of every sentence.↗ · Capitalise names like London and Monday.↗ · Our team capitalised on their mistake and scored.↗ · She capitalised on her success to start a shop.↗ · Don't capitalise the whole word – it looks like shouting.↗

capitol — Everyday, meaning 1: (US) The Capitol: the building in Washington, D.C. where the US Congress meets to make laws.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (US) The building where a state's lawmakers meet, a state capitol.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (history) The temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill in ancient Rome.↗ Example: The US Congress meets in the Capitol.↗ · The Capitol has a huge white dome.↗ · We visited the state capitol in Austin.↗ · Capitol Hill is often used to mean the US Congress.↗ · In ancient Rome, the Capitol was a temple on a hill.↗ · ‘Great prince,’ said he, ‘cause a copper horse and rider to be made, and stationed in front of the Capitol.↗

capped — Everyday, meaning 1: Covered at the top: snow-capped mountains.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Having a top limit put on it: prices are capped at £5.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (UK, sport) Chosen to play for your national team: capped for England.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: (teeth) Covered with an artificial crown by a dentist.↗ Example: We saw snow-capped mountains in the Alps.↗ · Bus fares are capped at £2.↗ · He was capped for Wales at the age of nineteen.↗ · The dentist capped my broken tooth.↗ · Screen time is capped at one hour a day in our house.↗ · The pen was capped so it would not dry out.↗ · One snow-capped peak after another rose before him, till the whole of the glittering Alpine range became visible.↗

capricious — Everyday, meaning 1: Capricious means changing your mind often and without reason; moody and unpredictable.↗ Example: The princess was capricious: she cried, then laughed.↗ · A capricious wind blew the kite about.↗ · You cannot please a capricious child.↗

capricorn — Everyday, meaning 1: A constellation (group of stars) whose name means «goat-horned», pictured as a sea-goat.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In astrology, one of the twelve star signs, for people born roughly between late December and mid-January; such a person is called «a Capricorn».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (geography) The Tropic of Capricorn is an imaginary line around the Earth south of the equator.↗ Example: The Tropic of Capricorn passes through Australia.↗ · Capricorn is pictured as a goat with a fish's tail.↗ · My uncle says he is a Capricorn because his birthday is in January.↗ · We found the constellation Capricorn in the star chart.↗ · Rockhampton in Queensland is near the Tropic of Capricorn.↗ · Astrology says Capricorns are hard-working, but there is no science behind it.↗ · He made the letter ʽAyin reign, and bound to it a crown, and formed with it Capricorn in the World, and Tevet in the Year, and the rumen in the Person.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation)↗

capsaicin — Everyday, meaning 1: Capsaicin is the natural chemical in chilli peppers that makes them taste hot and makes your mouth feel like it is burning.↗ Example: Capsaicin makes chillies taste hot.↗ · The hottest chillies have the most capsaicin.↗ · Drinking milk helps wash away capsaicin.↗ · Capsaicin is mostly in the white parts and seeds of a chilli.↗ · Birds cannot taste capsaicin, so they eat chilli seeds.↗ · Wash your hands after cutting chillies, because capsaicin stings your eyes.↗ · Some pain creams contain capsaicin.↗

capsize — Everyday, meaning 1: Of a boat: to turn over in the water so that the bottom is on top.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To make a boat turn over.↗ Example: The little boat capsized in the strong wind.↗ · Mole tried to row and capsized the boat.↗ · If your canoe capsizes, hold on to it.↗ · A big wave nearly capsized the ferry.↗ · We practised what to do if the dinghy capsized.↗ · Don't stand up in the boat or it will capsize.↗ · Everyone was wearing life jackets when the raft capsized.↗ · The children watched the toy boat capsize in the bath.↗ · As they neared the coast of Attica a great storm burst upon them, and the ship capsized.↗

capsizing — Everyday, meaning 1: Turning over in the water, so that the bottom of a boat is on top.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Making a boat turn over.↗ Example: The canoe was capsizing in the big wave.↗ · Wear a life jacket in case of capsizing.↗ · We practised capsizing and righting the dinghy.↗ · Too many people on one side can cause capsizing.↗ · The ferry was capsizing in the storm.↗ · After capsizing, hold on to the boat and wait for help.↗

capstan — Everyday, meaning 1: A large, upright, turning drum on a ship or dock, turned by sailors pushing bars, used to wind in heavy ropes or the anchor chain.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A similar turning part on a machine, such as an old tape recorder.↗ Example: The sailors pushed the capstan to raise the anchor.↗ · They sang a shanty as they walked round the capstan.↗ · The heavy rope was wound around the capstan.↗ · A capstan uses a lever to make pulling easier.↗ · The old ship had a wooden capstan on deck.↗ · We saw a capstan at the harbour museum.↗

capsule — Everyday, meaning 1: A capsule is a small tube-shaped container of medicine you swallow.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A space capsule is a small part of a spacecraft where astronauts sit, which can come back to Earth.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A time capsule is a box of things buried or kept for people in the future to open.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: In plants, a capsule is a seed case that splits open.↗ Example: Take one capsule twice a day with water.↗ · The astronauts splashed down in their capsule.↗ · Our class buried a time capsule in the school garden.↗ · Never eat laundry capsules, they are poisonous.↗ · The poppy's seed capsule rattles when shaken.↗ · The capsule was too big for me to swallow.↗

captain — Everyday, meaning 1: The person in charge of a ship or an aeroplane.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The leader of a sports team.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: An officer in the army, navy or police.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: (verb) To lead a team or a ship.↗ Example: Mia is the captain of our netball team.↗ · The captain steered the ship through the storm.↗ · «This is your captain speaking,» said the pilot.↗ · Captain Hook is the pirate in «Peter Pan».↗ · Who will captain the team this year?↗ · The captain was the last to leave the sinking ship.↗ · Our class captain helps the teacher.↗ · The captain was in great fright.↗ · And they said one to another: 'Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.'↗ (Torah NUM.14.4, JPS 1917)↗ · Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host.↗ (Torah GEN.26.26, JPS 1917)↗ · And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard.↗ (Torah GEN.37.36, JPS 1917)↗ · These were the captains of the tribes of Israel.↗ (Writings 1CH.27.22, JPS 1917)↗ · Then David received them, and made them captains of the band.↗ (Writings 1CH.12.19, JPS 1917)↗ · Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty.↗ (Prophets 2KI.1.9, JPS 1917)↗

caption — Everyday, meaning 1: A caption is a short piece of text next to a picture, photo or cartoon that explains it.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Captions are words shown on a screen that write down what people say, for people who cannot hear well.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To caption a picture is to write a caption for it.↗ Example: Write a caption under each photo.↗ · The caption said «A baby elephant at the zoo».↗ · Turn on the captions so Grandad can follow the film.↗ · The comic had funny captions.↗ · Caption your diagram: «The water cycle».↗ · The picture was real, but the caption was false.↗

captivate — In Jewish tradition, meaning 1: To charm someone so that they cannot look away, or to take them captive by beauty.↗ Example: Lust not after her beauty in thy heart; neither let her captivate thee with her eyelids.↗ (Writings PRO.6.25, JPS 1917)↗

captive — Everyday, meaning 1: A captive is a person or animal that has been caught and is kept somewhere and not allowed to leave.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Captive means kept and not free: captive animals.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A captive audience must listen because they cannot leave.↗ Example: The pirates took the sailors captive.↗ · The prince was held captive in a tower.↗ · Captive pandas are bred in zoos to save the species.↗ · The captives escaped at night.↗ · On the long bus ride, Dad had a captive audience for his jokes.↗ · The Bible tells of the Israelites held captive in Babylon.↗ · Among his captives was a Persian princess, to whom he was warmly attached.↗ · Asshur shall carry thee away captive.↗ (Torah NUM.24.22, JPS 1917)↗ · and all their wealth, and all their little ones and their wives, took they captive and spoiled, even all that was in the house.↗ (Torah GEN.34.29, JPS 1917)↗ · And Laban said to Jacob: 'What hast thou done, that thou hast outwitted me, and carried away my daughters as though captives of the sword?↗ (Torah GEN.31.26, JPS 1917)↗ · So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.↗ (Prophets 2KI.25.21, JPS 1917)↗ · For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.↗ (Writings 2CH.28.17, JPS 1917)↗ · He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captive.↗ (Writings PSA.106.46, JPS 1917)↗

captivity — Everyday, meaning 1: Captivity is the state of being kept in a place and not being free, like an animal in a zoo or a prisoner.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In captivity means kept by people instead of living in the wild.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Captivity can also mean being held completely by something pleasant, like a delightful story.↗ Example: Pandas are hard to breed in captivity.↗ · The lion was born in captivity and has never seen the wild.↗ · Some animals live longer in captivity than in the wild.↗ · The prisoners were held in captivity for months.↗ · The rescued turtle was released from captivity into the sea.↗ · Should dolphins be kept in captivity?↗ Discuss.↗ · The present volume attempts to begin the pleasant captivity from the earliest years.↗ · Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be thine; for they shall go into captivity.↗ (Torah DEU.28.41, JPS 1917)↗ · Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh; he hath given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, unto Sihon king of the Amorites.↗ (Torah NUM.21.29, JPS 1917)↗ · that then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.↗ (Torah DEU.30.3, JPS 1917)↗ · And the children of the captivity did so.↗ (Writings EZR.10.16, JPS 1917)↗ · And they dwelt in their stead until the captivity.↗ (Writings 1CH.5.22, JPS 1917)↗ · When I would turn the captivity of My people, (Prophets HOS.6.11, JPS 1917)↗