capacity
Americannoun
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the ability to receive or contain.
This hotel has a large capacity.
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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
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power of receiving impressions, knowledge, etc.; mental ability.
the capacity to learn calculus.
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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
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quality or state of being susceptible to a given treatment or action.
Steel has a high capacity to withstand pressure.
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position; function; role.
He served in the capacity of legal adviser.
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legal qualification.
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Electricity.
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maximum possible output.
adjective
noun
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the ability or power to contain, absorb, or hold
-
the amount that can be contained; volume
a capacity of six gallons
-
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the maximum amount something can contain or absorb (esp in the phrase filled to capacity )
-
( as modifier )
a capacity crowd
-
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the ability to understand or learn; aptitude; capability
he has a great capacity for Greek
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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
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a measure of the electrical output of a piece of apparatus such as a motor, generator, or accumulator
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electronics a former name for capacitance
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computing
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the number of words or characters that can be stored in a particular storage device
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the range of numbers that can be processed in a register
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the bit rate that a communication channel or other system can carry
-
legal competence
the capacity to make a will
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Explanation
Capacity describes your ability to do something or the amount something can hold. If your bird cage is at full capacity, you can't stuff one more feathered friend in there without causing birdie claustrophobia. From the Latin word capacitatem meaning “breadth, capacity,” capacity is a noun that in the simplest sense means "ability" or "capability": the capability of a room to hold a certain number of people, the ability of a law to change crime rates, your ability to pick up foreign languages. You might hear about factories working at "full capacity" — that means at full speed, producing as much as they possibly can.
Vocabulary lists containing capacity
Nothing But the Truth
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Word Generation Science - Measurement
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
So far in July, more than half of Russian refining capacity has been knocked offline by the attacks, according to estimates from IIR Energy, a Texas-based energy-market data and intelligence firm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The capacity to feel deeply, especially in the realm of love, is one of the most transcendently human experiences that mortal beings can have.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
The increase is "primarily due to an acceleration in the delivery of capacity to meet growing demand," Ashkenazi continued.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
This means that when it rains, if there is not enough spare capacity, the system and sewage treatment works can be quickly overwhelmed.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Hermes appears first in that capacity in the Odyssey, but he does not take Iris’ place.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
He also said that the maximum capacities of passenger boats should be clearly indicated to avoid overloading, which is often one of the causes when boats capsize.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
The moratorium applies to new facilities with capacities of at least 50 megawatts and halts projects still awaiting a permit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
This tournament features more matches than ever before, and North American stadiums have enormous capacities to accommodate even more fans, naturally upping the consumption of this World Cup.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
But the prospect of a job interview seems so far beyond his capacities he wonders if he’ll end up living on the street.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Where other elite athletes betray their doubts about their capacities with displays of touchy egotism, Woolf was utterly insouciant.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.