| / English Dictionary |
CAPACITY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A specified function
Example:
he should be retained in his present capacity at a higher salary
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("capacity" is a kind of...):
function; office; part; role (the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The maximum production possible
Example:
the plant is working at 80 per cent capacity
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("capacity" is a kind of...):
production ((economics) manufacturing or mining or growing something (usually in large quantities) for sale)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Tolerance for alcohol
Example:
he had drunk beyond his capacity
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("capacity" is a kind of...):
tolerance (the power or capacity of an organism to tolerate unfavorable environmental conditions)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Capability to perform or produce
Example:
a great capacity for growth
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("capacity" is a kind of...):
capability; capableness (the quality of being capable -- physically or intellectually or legally)
Antonym:
incapacity (lack of physical or natural qualifications)
Derivation:
capacitate (make capable)
capacitate (make legally capable or qualify in law)
Sense 5
Meaning:
The power to learn or retain knowledge; in law, the ability to understand the facts and significance of your behavior
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("capacity" is a kind of...):
ability; power (possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "capacity"):
prescience; prevision (the power to foresee the future)
Antonym:
incapacity (lack of intellectual power)
Sense 6
Meaning:
An electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored
Synonyms:
capacitance; capacity; electrical capacity
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("capacity" is a kind of...):
electrical phenomenon (a physical phenomenon involving electricity)
Sense 7
Meaning:
(computer science) the amount of information (in bytes) that can be stored on a disk drive
Example:
the capacity of a hard disk drive is usually expressed in megabytes
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("capacity" is a kind of...):
indefinite quantity (an estimated quantity)
Domain category:
computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "capacity"):
formatted capacity ((computer science) the usable capacity of a disk drive; the amount of space that is left after the sector headings and boundary definitions and timing information have been added by formatting the disk)
unformatted capacity ((computer science) the total number of bytes on a disk including the space that will be required to format it)
Derivation:
capacious (large in capacity)
Sense 8
Meaning:
The amount that can be contained
Example:
the gas tank has a capacity of 12 gallons
Synonyms:
capacity; content
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("capacity" is a kind of...):
volume (the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "capacity"):
vital capacity (the maximum amount of air that can be exhaled after a maximum inhalation (usually tested with a spirometer); used to determine the condition of lung tissue)
Derivation:
capacious (large in capacity)
Sense 9
Meaning:
The susceptibility of something to a particular treatment
Example:
the capability of a metal to be fused
Synonyms:
capability; capacity
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("capacity" is a kind of...):
susceptibility; susceptibleness (the state of being susceptible; easily affected)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "capacity"):
resistance (the capacity of an organism to defend itself against harmful environmental agents)
activity ((chemistry) the capacity of a substance to take part in a chemical reaction)
Context examples:
A device designed to restore the capacity of a system.
(Charger Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)
It can refer to the volume that can be held, such as lung capacity, or the number of people that can be contained in a room or building.
(Capacity, NCI Thesaurus)
Dr Meritxell Huch, who led the research, said: Our finding pinpoints TET1 as the protein that enables plasticity of the ductal cells and their regenerative capacity in response to injury.
(Regeneration mechanism discovered in mice could provide target for drugs to combat chronic liver disease, University of Cambridge)
This research suggests that when nitrate is abundant, a change occurs in the microbial community in salt marsh sediments that increases the microbes' capacity to degrade organic matter.
(Salt marshes' capacity to store carbon may be threatened by nitrogen pollution, National Science Foundation)
"It has enormous capacity to store water. What we don't know is 'How does the storage space get produced?' Understanding this layer between the soil and rock is important."
(Study explores how rock expands near soil surface in Sierra Nevada, National Science Foundation)
This suggests that the solid Earth has a greater capacity to store water than previously thought.
(Sierras Lost Water Weight, Grew Taller During Drought, NASA)
Psychosis is associated with dopamine system dysfunction, characterized by greater dopamine release and synthesis capacity in the striatum.
(Neuromelanin-sensitive MRI identified as a potential biomarker for psychosis, National Institutes of Health)
Once they are firing at full capacity, the thrusters can do no more to keep Cassini stably pointed, and the spacecraft will begin to tumble.
(Cassini Spacecraft Makes Its Final Approach to Saturn, NASA)
I never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe united.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Already-queued orders won't leave idle capacity for some years, Maróth said, and paying back this loan seems realistic.
(Hungarian state-owned enterprise acquires Hirtenberger Defence Group, Wikinews)
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