What does “capital” mean?
- 1
nounthe city where a country’s or state’s government is based
Tokyo is the capital of Japan.
- 2
nounmoney or property used to start or grow a business
They needed more capital to open a second store.
- 3
nouna large form of a letter, such as A or B
Write your name in capitals.
Capital at a glance
- Part of speech
- noun
- CEFR level
- A2 (elementary)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈkæpɪtl/ · KAP-ih-tul
How to use “capital” correctly
Don’t confuse “capital” (the city) with “Capitol” (the building where US lawmakers meet).
Common phrases with “capital”
- capital city
- capital letter
- raise capital
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Word family
- capitalism
- capitalist
- capitalize
“capital” is on these word lists
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