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Definition of "capital" []

  • A town or city that is the official seat of government in a political entity, such as a state or nation. (noun)
  • A city that is the center of a specific activity or industry: the financial capital of the world. (noun)
  • Wealth in the form of money or property, used or accumulated in a business by a person, partnership, or corporation. (noun)
  • Material wealth used or available for use in the production of more wealth. (noun)
  • Human resources considered in terms of their contributions to an economy: "[The] swift unveiling of his . . . plans provoked a flight of human capital” ( George F. Will). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "capital" in a sentence
  • "INDEPENDENCE FOR MANZHOUGUO (Manchukuo, the “Manchu state, ” Manchuria) was proclaimed; it consisted of the former three eastern provinces and Rehe (Jehol), with a capital at Xinjing (“new capital”), formerly Changchun."
  • "I therefore call it the variable part of capital, or, shortly, _variable capital_."
  • "I therefore call it the constant part of capital, or, more briefly, _constant capital_."