Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
ca•pac•i•ty(kəˈpæs ɪ ti)
n., pl. -ties,
ability capability capacity
You often use ability to say that someone can do something well.
A person's capability is the amount of work they can do and how well they can do it.
If someone has a particular capacity, a capacity for something, or a capacity to do something, they have the qualities required to do it. Capacity is a more formal word than ability.
|Noun||1.||capacity - capability to perform or produce; "among his gifts is his capacity for true altruism"; "limited runway capacity"; "a great capacity for growth"|
capability, capableness - the quality of being capable -- physically or intellectually or legally; "he worked to the limits of his capability"
incapacity - lack of physical or natural qualifications
|2.||capacity - the susceptibility of something to a particular treatment; "the capability of a metal to be fused"|
resistance - the capacity of an organism to defend itself against harmful environmental agents; "these trees are widely planted because of their resistance to salt and smog"
activity - (chemistry) the capacity of a substance to take part in a chemical reaction; "catalytic activity"
|3.||capacity - the amount that can be contained; "the gas tank has a capacity of 12 gallons"|
volume - the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object; "the gas expanded to twice its original volume"
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
|4.||capacity - the maximum production possible; "the plant is working at 80 per cent capacity"|
production - (economics) manufacturing or mining or growing something (usually in large quantities) for sale; "he introduced more efficient methods of production"
|5.||capacity - a specified function; "he was employed in the capacity of director"; "he should be retained in his present capacity at a higher salary"|
|6.||capacity - (computer science) the amount of information (in bytes) that can be stored on a disk drive; "the capacity of a hard disk drive is usually expressed in megabytes"|
computer science, computing - the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures
indefinite quantity - an estimated quantity
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
|7.||capacity - an electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored|
electrical phenomenon - a physical phenomenon involving electricity
|8.||capacity - the power to learn or retain knowledge; in law, the ability to understand the facts and significance of your behavior|
ability, power - possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done; "danger heightened his powers of discrimination"
incapacity - lack of intellectual power
|9.||capacity - tolerance for alcohol; "he had drunk beyond his capacity"|
tolerance - the power or capacity of an organism to tolerate unfavorable environmental conditions
what is the capacity of this hall? → ¿cuántos caben en esta sala?
filled to capacity → al completo
in my capacity as Chairman → en mi calidad de presidente
in what capacity were you there? → ¿en calidad de qué estabas allí?
I've worked for them in various capacities → he trabajado para ellos desempeñando distintas funciones
seating capacity → capienza
filled to capacity → pieno/a zeppo/a
to work at full capacity (factory) → lavorare a pieno ritmo
in my capacity as chairman → nella mia veste di presidente, in qualità di presidente
in an advisory capacity → a titolo consultativo
in his official capacity → nell'esercizio delle sue funzioni