caps.

abbreviation for

1. capital letters.
2. (in prescriptions) a capsule.

caps.

abbreviation for

1. capital letters

Word History and Origins

Origin of caps.¹

caps. ( def 2 ) < Latin capsula

Example Sentences

Ms Allen-Wyatt, who was seen as a trailblazer for the women's game, retired from football in September 2023 after winning 103 caps for Wales, joining an elite group of just nine Welsh footballers to play more than 100 times for their country.

From BBC

In all, the Springboks' matchday 23 have 970 caps between them.

From BBC

The 23 players in Wales' matchday squad have 334 caps between them, while South Africa's replacements alone have played a collective total of 431 international games.

From BBC

Chastain, who went on to win 192 caps for her country, struck the ball emphatically past China goalkeeper Gao Hong.

From BBC

Within a few blocks of the corner where the plaintiff was hurt, about half the light poles had caps that were loose or missing, meaning they had already fallen off.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• beret

More About Caps

What does caps mean?

Caps is an informal, short way of saying capital letters—the bigger, taller versions of letters (like W), as opposed to the smaller versions, which are called lowercase letters (like w).

Capital letters are also called uppercase letters or simply capitals.

A word written entirely in capital letters (like WHAT) is said to be written in caps or all caps. The adjective uppercase can be used to mean the same thing.

To capitalize a word is to put its first letter in caps—to make it a capital letter.

Some acronyms and abbreviations are written using all caps, such as NASA and U.S.

The key on a keyboard that results in all letters being in caps is called caps lock (or sometimes caps for short).

In informal communications like text messages and online posts, caps is often used for emphasis or to convey excitement or to mimic yelling.

Example: My mom keeps sending my texts in ALL CAPS and I can’t tell if she’s mad at me.

Where does caps come from?

The term caps has been used as a shortened form of capital letters since at least the 1800s. The word capital comes from the Latin capitālis, meaning “concerning the head,” or “chief,” from caput, “head.”

It can be confusing to know whether or not to use a capital letter in certain situations, but a capitalization guide can help.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for caps?

• all caps
• capital letters
• capitals
• uppercase

What are some words that share a root or word element with caps? 

• capital
• capitalize
• capitalization

What are some words that often get used in discussing caps?

• all
• letter
• word
• sentence
• spell
• type
• text
• write
• lock
• key
• title
• lowercase

How is caps used in real life?

Caps is informal. It’s especially used in the phrase all caps. In casual communications, words are sometimes written in caps for emphasis.

Trying out some new fonts, should I use all caps or lowercase? Pictures below! #gamedev #indiedev #indiegame #pixelart pic.twitter.com/IWgU79on65

— Kyle Berger (@IceBERGer3) August 16, 2019

A first for me: I was invited to review my own article submission today. Is it okay to write back in all caps (with no explanation): WOW, SO GOOD, ACCEPT WITH NO CONDITIONS

— Brian Tuohy (@brian_tuohy) February 8, 2021

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT WORKING IN NEWS IS THE MESSAGES I GET IN ALL CAPS FROM MY COLLEAGUES. IS SOMEONE REALLY EXCITED? OR REALLY ANGRY? IN A RUSH?

— Andrew Smith (@AndrewSmithNews) February 7, 2021

Try using caps!

Which of the following words is spelled in all caps?

A. yelling
B. Yelling
C. YELLING
D. yELliNg