Adjacent Words

Capacity definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CAPACITY, n.
1. Passive power; the power of containing, or holding; extent of room or space; as the capacity of a vessel, or a cask.
2. The extent or comprehensiveness of the mind; the power of receiving ideas or knowledge.
Let instruction be adapted to the capacities of youth.
3. Active power; ability; applied to men or things; but less common, and correct.
The world does not include a cause endued with such capacities.
4. State; condition; character; profession; occupation. A man may act in the capacity of a mechanic, of a friend, of an attorney, or of a statesman. He may have a natural or a political capacity.
5. Ability, in a moral or legal sense; qualification; legal power or right; as, a man or a corporation may have a capacity to give or receive and hold estate.
6. In geometry, the solid contents of a body.
7. In chimistry, that state, quality or constitution of bodies, by which they absorb and contain, or render latent, any fluid; as the capacity of water for caloric.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: capability to perform or produce; "among his gifts is his capacity for true altruism"; "limited runway capacity"; "a great capacity for growth" [ant: incapacity]
2: the susceptibility of something to a particular treatment; "the capability of a metal to be fused" [syn: capability, capacity]
3: the amount that can be contained; "the gas tank has a capacity of 12 gallons" [syn: capacity, content]
4: the maximum production possible; "the plant is working at 80 per cent capacity"
5: a specified function; "he was employed in the capacity of director"; "he should be retained in his present capacity at a higher salary"
6: (computer science) the amount of information (in bytes) that can be stored on a disk drive; "the capacity of a hard disk drive is usually expressed in megabytes"
7: an electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored [syn: capacitance, electrical capacity, capacity]
8: the power to learn or retain knowledge; in law, the ability to understand the facts and significance of your behavior [syn: capacity, mental ability] [ant: incapacity]
9: tolerance for alcohol; "he had drunk beyond his capacity"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural -ties) Etymology: Middle English capacite, from Middle French capacité, from Latin capacitat-, capacitas, from capac-, capax Date: 15th century 1. legal competency or fitness <capacity to stand trial> 2. a. the potential or suitability for holding, storing, or accommodating <a large seating capacity> b. the maximum amount or number that can be contained or accommodated <a jug with a one-gallon capacity> <the auditorium was filled to capacity> — see metric system table, weight table 3. a. an individual's mental or physical ability ; aptitude, skill b. the faculty or potential for treating, experiencing, or appreciating <capacity for love> 4. duty, position, role <will be happy to serve in any capacity> 5. the facility or power to produce, perform, or deploy ; capability <a plan to double the factory's capacity>; also maximum output <industries running at three-quarter capacity> 6. a. capacitance b. the quantity of electricity that a battery can deliver under specified conditions II. adjective Date: 1897 equaling maximum capacity <a capacity crowd>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 a the power of containing, receiving, experiencing, or producing (capacity for heat, pain , etc.). b the maximum amount that can be contained or produced etc. c the volume, e.g. of the cylinders in an internal-combustion engine. d (attrib.) fully occupying the available space, resources, etc. (a capacity audience). 2 a mental power. b a faculty or talent. 3 a position or function (in a civil capacity; in my capacity as a critic). 4 legal competence. 5 Electr. capacitance. Phrases and idioms: measure of capacity a measure used for vessels and liquids or grains etc. to capacity fully; using all resources (working to capacity). Derivatives: capacitative adj. (also capacitive) (in sense 5). Etymology: ME f. F f. L capacitas -tatis (as CAPACIOUS)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Capacity Ca*pac"i*ty, n.; pl. Capacities (-t[i^]z). [L. capacitus, fr. capax, capacis; fr. F. capacit['e]. See Capacious.] 1. The power of receiving or containing; extent of room or space; passive power; -- used in reference to physical things. Had our great palace the capacity To camp this host, we all would sup together. --Shak. The capacity of the exhausted cylinder. --Boyle. 2. The power of receiving and holding ideas, knowledge, etc.; the comprehensiveness of the mind; the receptive faculty; capability of undestanding or feeling. Capacity is now properly limited to these [the mere passive operations of the mind]; its primary signification, which is literally room for, as well as its employment, favars this; although it can not be dented that there are examples of its usage in an active sense. --Sir W. Hamilton. 3. Ability; power pertaining to, or resulting from, the possession of strength, wealth, or talent; possibility of being or of doing. The capacity of blessing the people. --Alex. Hamilton. A cause with such capacities endued. --Blackmore. 4. Outward condition or circumstances; occupation; profession; character; position; as, to work in the capacity of a mason or a carpenter. 5. (Law) Legal or noral qualification, as of age, residence, character, etc., necessary for certain purposes, as for holding office, for marrying, for making contracts, will, etc.; legal power or right; competency. Capacity for heat, the power of absorbing heat. Substances differ in the amount of heat requisite to raise them a given number of thermometric degrees, and this difference is the measure of, or depends upon, what is called their capacity for heat. See Specific heat, under Heat. Syn: Ability; faculty; talent; capability; skill; efficiency; cleverness. See Ability.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(capacities) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Your capacity for something is your ability to do it, or the amount of it that you are able to do. Our capacity for giving care, love and attention is limited... Her mental capacity and temperament are as remarkable as his. ...people's creative capacities. N-VAR: oft with poss, N for n/-ing, N to-inf 2. The capacity of something such as a factory, industry, or region is the quantity of things that it can produce or deliver with the equipment or resources that are available. Bread factories are working at full capacity... The region is valued for its coal and vast electricity-generating capacity... 3. The capacity of a piece of equipment is its size or power, often measured in particular units. ...an aircraft with a bomb-carrying capacity of 454 kg. N-COUNT 4. The capacity of a container is its volume, or the amount of liquid it can hold, measured in units such as litres or gallons. ...the fuel tanks, which had a capacity of 140 litres... Grease 6 ramekin dishes of 150 ml (5-6 fl oz) capacity. N-VAR 5. The capacity of a building, place, or vehicle is the number of people or things that it can hold. If a place is filled to capacity, it is as full as it can possibly be. Each stadium had a seating capacity of about 50,000... Toronto hospital maternity wards were filled to capacity. N-SING: also no det, oft to N 6. A capacity crowd or audience completely fills a theatre, sports stadium, or other place. A capacity crowd of 76,000 people was at Wembley football stadium for the event. ADJ: ADJ n 7. If you do something in a particular capacity, you do it as part of a particular job or duty, or because you are representing a particular organization or person. (WRITTEN) Ms Halliwell visited the Philippines in her capacity as a Special Representative of Unicef... This article is written in a personal capacity... N-COUNT: with supp, in N, oft poss N as n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Containing power, magnitude (in reference to contents), volume, dimensions, amplitude, extent of room or space. 2. Power (of apprehension), faculty, talent, genius, gift, turn, forte, parts, brains, aptness, aptitude, discernment, wit, mother-wit, calibre. 3. Ability, ableness, capability, cleverness, skill, skilfulness, competency, efficiency, readiness. See calibre. 4. Office, post, position, sphere, province, character, function, service, charge.

Moby Thesaurus

IQ, SRO, ability, ableness, accommodation, acumen, address, adeptness, adequacy, adroitness, airmanship, amplitude, apprehension, aptitude, artfulness, artisanship, artistry, bellyful, bent, brains, bravura, brilliance, brimful, brimming, bulging, bump, bumper, burden, bursting, caliber, capability, capableness, capaciousness, capacitance, capital, character, charge, chock-full, chuck-full, cleverness, collector junction capacitance, command, commodiousness, competence, competency, complement, comprehension, conception, condition, congested, consciousness, content, control, coordination, cordage, craft, craftsmanship, cram, cram-full, crammed, crush, cunning, deductive power, deftness, devices, dexterity, dexterousness, dextrousness, dimensions, diplomacy, disposable resources, dower, dowry, duty, efficacy, efficiency, emitter junction capacitance, endowment, equipment, esemplastic power, expansiveness, expertise, extensiveness, facility, faculties, faculty, farad, farci, fill, filled, finesse, fitness, flair, flush, footing, forte, full, full house, full measure, full to bursting, function, funds, genius, gift, grace, grip, handiness, horsemanship, ideation, ingeniousness, ingenuity, instinct, integrative power, intellect, intellectual gifts, intellectual grasp, intellectual power, intellectualism, intellectuality, intellectuals, intelligence, intelligence quotient, jam up, jam-packed, job, judgement, knack, know-how, knowledge, lading, limit, load, long suit, makings, marksmanship, mastership, mastery, means, measure, mental age, mental capacity, mental grasp, mental ratio, mentality, method, metier, might, mother wit, mouthful, native wit, natural endowment, natural gift, office, overfull, overstuffed, packed, packed like sardines, part, parts, perception, perceptiveness, perspicacity, place, plenary, position, post, potential, poundage, power, power of mind, powers, practical ability, proficiency, province, prowess, qualification, quality, quantity, quickness, rank, rationality, readiness, ready to burst, reasoning power, recourses, relation, replete, resistance capacitance, resorts, resource, resourcefulness, resources, responsibility, role, room, roominess, round, sanity, satiated, saturated, savoir-faire, savvy, scope of mind, seamanship, sense, senses, situation, size, skill, skillfulness, skinful, snootful, soaked, space, spaciousness, speciality, sphere, standing, standing room only, state, station, status, stock, stowage, strong flair, strong point, stuffed, style, sufficiency, supply, surfeited, susceptibility, swollen, tact, tactfulness, talent, talents, technical brilliance, technical mastery, technical skill, technique, the goods, the stuff, thinking power, timing, tonnage, topful, twin, understanding, virtuosity, volume, ways, ways and means, what it takes, wherewith, wherewithal, wit, wits, wizardry, workmanship