Definition of capital noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary



    BrE BrE//ˈkæpɪtl//
    ; NAmE NAmE//ˈkæpɪtl//
    Economy, Running a business, Architectural features
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  1. 1  (also capital city) [countable] the most important town or city of a country, usually where the central government operates from Cairo is the capital of Egypt. Troops are stationed in and around the capital. a tour of six European capital cities (figurative) Paris, the fashion capital of the world
  2. money
  3. 2  [singular] a large amount of money that is invested or is used to start a business to set up a business with a starting capital of £100 000 See related entries: Running a business
  4. 3[uncountable] wealth or property that is owned by a business or a person capital assets capital expenditure (= money that an organization spends on buildings, equipment, etc.) See related entries: Economy, Running a business
  5. 4[uncountable] (specialist) people who use their money to start businesses, considered as a group capital and labour
  6. resources
  7. 5[uncountable] (in compounds) a valuable resource of a particular kind Education creates intellectual capital to convert into economic and social rewards. Immigrant children have cultural capital of their own—including their home language—which may be undervalued. see also human capital, political capital, social capital
  8. letter
  9. 6  (also capital letter) [countable] a letter of the form and size that is used at the beginning of a sentence or a name (= A,B,C rather than a,b,c) Use block capitals (= separate capital letters). Please write in capitals/in capital letters.
  10. architecture
  11. 7the top part of a column See related entries: Architectural features
  12. Word Originnoun senses 1 to 5 Middle English (as an adjective in the sense ‘relating to the head or top’, later ‘standing at the head or beginning’): via Old French from Latin capitalis, from caput ‘head’. noun sense 6 Middle English: from Old French capitel, from late Latin capitellum ‘little head’, diminutive of Latin caput. Wordfinderasset, bond, capital, dividend, equity, fund, interest, invest, portfolio, share Wordfinderafford, bank, bankrupt, capital, economy, expense, finance, invest, money, profitExtra examples Give your name in block capitals. He had various ideas on how to raise capital for the project. He sank vast amounts of capital in the venture. He secured $175 million in capital funding from investors. Inner city areas require a large injection of capital. Investors want an immediate return on their capital. Las Vegas is the gambling capital of the world. Our capital is all tied up in property. The company has put a lot of capital into the project. The department store has branches in all major capitals. The opposition parties are all making political capital out of the disagreements within the government. They are hoping to attract funding from venture-capital firms. We are launching a capital campaign to renovate the historic building. We can’t expect the government to put up the capital. We don’t have enough capital to buy new premises. capital gains tax capital intensive industries investment in major capital projects the capital value of the property the fast pace of life in the capital They set up the business with a starting capital of £100 000. capital assets/​goods/​stock capital costs/​spending/​expenditureIdioms
    make capital (out) of something
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    to use a situation for your own advantage The opposition parties are making political capital out of the government's problems.
See the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary entry: capital