Skip to content
WORDS, MADE CLEAR.
Your everyday English companion

Home/Dictionary/capacity
English dictionary

capacity Meaning & Definition

/kəˈpæsɪti/

What Does Capacity Mean?

Capacity is used as a noun meaning The ability to hold, receive, or absorb. It can also mean A measure of such ability; volume. The maximum amount that can be held. As an adjective, it means Filling the allotted space.

Capacity: Key Facts

Part of speechnoun, adjective
Pronunciation//kəˈpæsɪti//
Syllables1
Synonymscontent, capability and capacitance
Antonymsincapacity
Pluralcapacities

Capacity Definition (Noun)

  1. The ability to hold, receive, or absorb.
  2. A measure of such ability; volume. The maximum amount that can be held.

    It was hauling a capacity load.

  3. The maximum amount that can be held.

    It was hauling a capacity load.

  4. Capability; the ability to perform some task.
  5. The maximum that can be produced.

    Its capacity rating was 150 tons per hour, but its actual maximum capacity was 200 tons per hour.

  6. The maximum that can be produced on a machine or in a facility or group.

    Its capacity rating was 150 tons per hour, but its actual maximum capacity was 200 tons per hour.

  7. The potential for growth and development. Mental ability; the power to learn.
  8. Mental ability; the power to learn.
  9. A role; the position in which one functions.

    in my capacity as team captain

  10. Legal authority (to make an arrest for example).
  11. Electrical capacitance.

Capacity as an Adjective

  1. Filling the allotted space.

Noun

  1. A measure of such ability; volume
  2. A faculty; the potential for growth and development
  3. (operations) The maximum that can be produced on a machine or in a facility or group.

    Its capacity rating was 150 tons per hour, but its actual maximum capacity was 200 tons per hour.

Synonyms of Capacity

Capacity synonyms and antonyms →

Antonyms of Capacity

Capacity in a Sentence

It was hauling a capacity load.

The orchestra played to a capacity crowd.

A factory operating at less than full capacity.

Its capacity rating was 150 tons per hour, but its actual maximum capacity was 200 tons per hour.

in my capacity as team captain

There will be a capacity crowd at Busch stadium for the sixth game.

Word Forms & Grammar

capacity (countable and uncountable, plural capacities)

capacity (not comparable)

Words That Rhyme With Capacity

Origin of Capacity

From Middle English capacite, from Old French capacite, from Latin capācitās (whence -acity), from capāx (“able to hold much”), from capiō (“to hold, to contain, to take, to understand”).

How to Pronounce Capacity

You say capacity as //kəˈpæsɪti//. It has 1 syllable.

Capacity: Your Questions Answered

Is capacity a noun or an adjective?

Capacity is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as an adjective.

What is another word for capacity?

Words with a similar meaning to capacity include content, capability and capacitance. See the full list of capacity synonyms and antonyms.

What is the opposite of capacity?

The opposite of capacity is incapacity.

What is the plural of capacity?

The plural of capacity is capacities.

More About Capacity On Meaning Stash

More Words Starting With “Capa”

Trending On Meaning Stash This Week