capping

1 of 3

noun (1)

cap·​ping ˈka-piŋ 

plural cappings

: something that functions as a cap or cover

… a signal from the honey bee larvae intended to alert worker bees to seal the brood cell with a wax capping …

—Charlie Vanden Heuvel

capping

2 of 3

noun (2)

variants or less commonly cappin'

ˈka-pən 

or cappin

African American English slang

: a ritualized exchange of insults that are often about the other person's appearance or members of the other person's family : joning

… rituals such as capping and playing the dozens.

—John McWhorter

The next day I waited for the capping to start. And it did. A ninth grader said, "Man, that shirt you're wearing has been through World War I, World War II, World War III, and World War IV." "Yeah," I said, "and your mama wore it."

—Ben Carson

compare the dozens, signifying entry 1

capping

3 of 3

present participle of cap entry 2, cap entry 5

Examples of capping in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Fare-capping means passengers don’t need to buy monthly passes, because the system automatically stops charging them one-way fares when their spending reaches the cost of a monthly pass. —David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026

Lafferty said the county is now working to assess which wells are most in need of capping. —Dillon Thomas, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2026

Worried about losing her hair, Ashley decided to try cold capping, a type of therapy to reduce hair loss caused by chemotherapy. —Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 6 Apr. 2026

Paxton was the keynote speaker at CPAC’s Ronald Reagan dinner, a black-tie optional soiree capping off the day’s programing. —Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from cappen "to cap entry 2" + -ing -ing entry 1

Noun (2)

cap entry 5 + -ing entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1994, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for capping

• clapping
• flapping
• lapping
• mapping
• napping
• rapping
• sapping
• scrapping
• slapping
• snapping
• strapping
• tapping