capitol
cap·i·tol/ˈkæp.ɪ.təl/noun
capitol is spelled C-A-P-I-T-O-L: 7 letters and 3 syllables (cap·i·tol). It appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 7,121st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “capital vs capitol” about 33,100 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, capitol means “Any building or complex of buildings in which a legislature meets” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of capitol is capitols.
How many letters and syllables are in capitol?
| Letters | 7: C-A-P-I-T-O-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: cap·i·tol |
| In writing | 10 times per million words; the 7,121st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is capitol?
Capitol appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 7,121st 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 capitol?
- /ˈkæp.ɪ.təl/
Capitol has 3 syllables, split cap·i·tol in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-capitol.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with capitol
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: capital (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with capitol?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as capitol.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: optical, topical.
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 capitol
- capitols plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does capitol mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USAny building or complex of buildings in which a legislature meets.
The state capitol is located smack-dab in the middle of the state's capital.
- 2
Any citadel or complex of buildings similar to the Roman Capitol, particularly Italian and Roman citadels including temples to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.
- 3
Alternative form of capitoul (“the former chief magistrates of Toulouse, France”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Capitol in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense any building where a legislature meets:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | capitolio |
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 capitol come from?
From Middle English Capitolie, via Anglo-Norman capitolie, Old French capitoile, from Latin Capitōlium (“Capitoline Hill, its temples; any similar citadel”), from the oblique stem of caput (“head”) + -ō (noun-forming suffix) or -ōlus (“-ole”, diminutive suffix) + -ium (toponym-forming suffix). Compare Latin capitō and capitulum. As a French magistrate, via French capitoul, from Capitole, the town hall of Toulouse. Doublet of Capitolium and capitoul.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).