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capacity

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noun [countable/uncountable] American English pronunciation: capacity /kəˈpæsəti/ 
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singularcapacity
pluralcapacities
Other entries for this word
  1. 1
    the amount of something that can be put in a container, or the number of people that a place has room for
    capacity of:

    The fuel tanks have a capacity of 25,000 gallons.

    a theater with a seating capacity of 800

    a capacity crowd/audience (=a very large crowd/audience that completely fills a place):

    The game is set to attract a capacity crowd of 42,000.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of capacity
    1. a.
      computing the amount of information that can be stored on a computer or on a CD or floppy disk
      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of capacity
  2. 2
    the ability to do something

    Her poor health limits her earning capacity.

    capacity to do something:

    They are worried about their capacity to invest for the future.

    capacity for:

    Harry had a tremendous capacity for work.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of capacity
  3. 3
    the amount of goods that a company can produce, or the amount of work it can do

    New machinery could increase our production capacity by 25 percent.

    The plant has a capacity of 120,000 tons a year.

    The present rail network has plenty of spare capacity.

    at full capacity (=producing as many goods as possible, or doing as much work as possible):

    The factory is now operating at full capacity.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of capacity
    1. a.
      the amount of energy or power that something can produce
      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of capacity

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This is the American English definition of capacity. View British English definition of capacity.

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