cape
/keɪp/noun, verb
cape is spelled C-A-P-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,302nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cape means “A piece or point of land, extending beyond the adjacent coast into a sea or lake; a promontory; a headland” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cape is capes.
How many letters and syllables are in cape?
| Letters | 4: C-A-P-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 20 times per million words; the 4,302nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cape?
Cape appears 20 times per million words in written English, the 4,302nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cape?
- /keɪp/
Cape has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-cape.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with cape?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as cape.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: pace.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cape
- capes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- caping participle, present
- caped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cape mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A piece or point of land, extending beyond the adjacent coast into a sea or lake; a promontory; a headland.
- 2
A sleeveless garment or part of a garment, hanging from the neck over the back, arms, and shoulders.
- 3
slangA superhero.
verb
- 1
To incite or attract (a bull) to charge a certain direction, by waving a cape.
- 2
To head or point; to keep a course.
The ship capes southwest by south.
- 3
To skin an animal, particularly a deer.
- 4
USslangTo defend or praise, especially that which is unworthy.
Many times, you see white supremacist groups caping for women to mask their agenda of white nationalism.
- 5
To cover (as) with or like a cape.
noun
- 1
Acronym of convective available potential energy.
- 2
Acronym of cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cape in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cap , cape |
| German | Kap , Cape |
| Portuguese | cabo , capa |
| Spanish | cabo , capa, capote, capeta, capotillo, capisayo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cape come from?
From Middle English cape, gappe, cap, from Old French cap (“cape, headland”), from Latin caput (“head”). Compare Old Norse kobbi (“islet, small cape”). Doublet of capo, caput, chef, and chief, and distantly with head and Howth. For sense development, compare English ness (“a promontory point, cape”) from a root related to nose, Bulgarian нос (nos) (the same PIE root). Also compare coast (<< Latin costa).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).