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Capital and Capitol: Which One to Use Where
What a pair these are: they sound identical and look nearly identical and both have meanings that relate to government. Mastering their use, however, is simple.
The key is this: capitol, the one with an "o," is very limited in use. It appears in the term Capitol Hill, and is used to refer to one very particular and famous building, to some other similar buildings, and, occasionally, to a group of buildings that includes those similar buildings. For all other meanings, the word you want is capital.
This means that in a state's capital city is a building or group of buildings properly referred to with the word capitol, with an "o." In this use capitol is synonymous with statehouse: both refer to the building or group of buildings where a state legislature meets. The phrase capital city utilizes capital because it refers to a city, not to a building or group of buildings.
Capitol with a capital "C" refers to the particular building in Washington, D.C. where the U.S. Congress meets. It often appears before other nouns in phrases like the Capitol building and Capitol police, and is very frequently used in the term Capitol Hill, which refers both to the legislative branch of the United States government as well as to the location of the Capitol building. The Capitol, like many state capitol buildings, has a rounded dome that is somewhat reminiscent of the top of an "o," which may help some remember the "o" spelling. Note that the word capital as used to describe an uppercase letter, like in the phrase capital "C", utilizes capital.
The word capital has three distinct homographs, two for noun uses and one for adjective uses. Readers should consult those entries for the various meanings of capital, but can be assured that they all end in al, rather than ol.
Examples of Capitol Hill in a Sentence
Alex Thomas, arkansasonline.com, 28 Apr. 2024
The Army has fielded prototype lasers to the Middle East, the commander of Central Command acknowledged in testimony on Capitol Hill.
—USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2024
The Commerce Department on Friday is scheduled to release the 150-page regulation, which agency officials have outlined to advocacy groups and policymakers on Capitol Hill.
—David Kocieniewski / Bloomberg, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024
Another student suspended from Barnard was Isra Hirsi, whose mother, Ilhan Omar, was one of the representatives who had just finished questioning Shafik on Capitol Hill.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2024
Flint residents hold a bottle full of contaminated water and a clump of hair on Capitol Hill in 2016.Mark Wilson / Getty Images file
In the summer of 2015, Virginia Tech researchers found samples of Flint water had abnormally high lead levels.
—Maggie Vespa, NBC News, 24 Apr. 2024
Congress just hosted its annual bipartisan financial literacy fair on Capitol Hill.
—ABC News, 24 Apr. 2024
In addition to her experience on Broadway, Shields pointed to her experience lobbying Capitol Hill as a parent, as well as what she’s accomplished across her life and career.
—Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Apr. 2024
Raisman, Biles, Maroney and former world champion gymnast Maggie Nichols all testified on Capitol Hill in 2021 about the FBI’s investigation into Nassar.
—Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 23 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Capitol Hill.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near Capitol Hill
Cite this Entry
“Capitol Hill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Capitol%20Hill. Accessed 4 May. 2024.
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