cap

Definitions

Cap comes from Late Latin cappa (a hood or cloak), which traces back to caput ('head'). All its meanings circle around 'something that sits on top, like a hat on a head': the hat itself, a bottle cap, an ice cap on a mountain, and figuratively an upper limit that 'caps' how high a number can go.

Why It Means This

Start with the literal hat sitting on a head, then let the image spread. Anything that sits over the top of something can be a cap: the cap on a pen, a kneecap, the snowy cap on a peak. The leap to 'limit' is the same picture turned abstract — a cap on spending is a ceiling you can't push past, like a lid you can't lift.

Common Collocations

• 1.baseball cap棒球帽
• 2.bottle cap瓶盖
• 3.ice cap冰盖
• 4.salary cap薪资上限
• 5.cap on spending支出上限

Example Sentences

• 1.

  He pulled his baseball cap down to shield his eyes from the sun.

• 2.

  Don't forget to screw the cap back on the bottle.

• 3.

  The government placed a cap on rent increases this year.

• 4.

  Bonuses will be capped at ten percent of salary.