capacity
Americannoun
plural
capacities-
the ability to receive or contain.
This hotel has a large capacity.
-
the maximum amount or number that can be received or contained; cubic contents; volume.
The inn is filled to capacity.
The gasoline tank has a capacity of 20 gallons.
- Synonyms:
- amplitude
-
power of receiving impressions, knowledge, etc.; mental ability.
the capacity to learn calculus.
-
actual or potential ability to perform, yield, or withstand.
He has a capacity for hard work.
The capacity of the oil well was 150 barrels a day.
She has the capacity to go two days without sleep.
- Synonyms:
- capability, competence, adequacy, aptitude
-
quality or state of being susceptible to a given treatment or action.
Steel has a high capacity to withstand pressure.
-
position; function; role.
He served in the capacity of legal adviser.
-
legal qualification.
-
Electricity.
-
maximum possible output.
adjective
noun
-
the ability or power to contain, absorb, or hold
-
the amount that can be contained; volume
a capacity of six gallons
-
-
the maximum amount something can contain or absorb (esp in the phrase filled to capacity )
-
( as modifier )
a capacity crowd
-
-
the ability to understand or learn; aptitude; capability
he has a great capacity for Greek
-
the ability to do or produce (often in the phrase at capacity )
the factory's output was not at capacity
-
a specified position or function
he was employed in the capacity of manager
-
a measure of the electrical output of a piece of apparatus such as a motor, generator, or accumulator
-
electronics a former name for capacitance
-
computing
-
the number of words or characters that can be stored in a particular storage device
-
the range of numbers that can be processed in a register
-
-
the bit rate that a communication channel or other system can carry
-
legal competence
the capacity to make a will
Etymology
Origin of capacity
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English capacite, capasite, from Middle French, from Latin capācitāt-, stem of capācitās “ability, understanding,” equivalent to capāci- (stem of capāx “confident, fit, roomy,” equivalent to cap(ere) “to take, seize” + -āx, adjective suffix) + -tās -ty 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"And now, in 20 days, we're able to complete the orders to fill our ship to max capacity and go to Venezuela and complete the orders right away."
From Barron's
At that time, global demand was rebounding from pandemic lows and capacity was constrained.
From Barron's
Schools were ordered closed until further notice, while banks were to remain open and government offices would operate at half capacity.
From Barron's
Sometimes called “oil island,” it has a storage capacity of about 7 million barrels.
From MarketWatch
But the chips make use of a kind of superfast memory that has limited capacity, meaning that lots of racks would be needed.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
