capacity: Meaning and Definition of

ca•pac•i•ty

Pronunciation: (ku-pas'i-tē), [key]
— n., pl. adj. -ties,
—n.
  1. the ability to receive or contain: This hotel has a large capacity.
  2. the maximum amount or number that can be received or contained; cubic contents; volume:The gasoline tank has a capacity of 20 gallons. The inn is filled to capacity.
  3. power of receiving impressions, knowledge, etc.; mental ability: the capacity to learn calculus.
  4. actual or potential ability to perform, yield, or withstand: He has a capacity for hard work. The capacity of the oil well was 150 barrels a day. She has the capacity to go two days without sleep.
  5. quality or state of being susceptible to a given treatment or action: Steel has a high capacity to withstand pressure.
  6. position; function; role: He served in the capacity of legal adviser.
  7. legal qualification.
    1. capacitance.
    2. maximum possible output.
—adj.
  1. reaching maximum capacity: a capacity audience; a capacity crowd.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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