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# capacity

noun (a capacity, capacities; also uncountable)

«capacity» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. The amount a container can hold. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/#m1)
2. The largest number of people a place can hold. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/#m2)
3. Ability to do something. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/#m3)
4. (formal) A role or position: "in her capacity as head teacher". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/#m4)

### In the lessons

A key maths word: capacity of jugs and bottles in litres and millilitres. In everyday life: the stadium has a capacity of 40,000; "full to capacity". Phrases: full to capacity, capacity of, in my capacity as.

### Examples

- The jug has a capacity of 2 litres. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/#x1)
- The hall was full to capacity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/#x2)
- The bus has a capacity of 52 passengers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/#x3)
- What is the capacity of the fish tank? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/#x4)
- She has a great capacity for hard work. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/#x5)
- Speaking in her capacity as head teacher, she thanked the parents. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/#x6)
- The manner in which these tales are told, however, may often be taken as a test of the intellectual capacity of their tellers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/#x7)

### Note

Maths: capacity is how much it can hold (measured in ml, l, gallons, pints); volume is how much space something takes up. Capacity is a maximum, not the amount actually in it: a 2-litre jug might hold only 1 litre now.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «capacity» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/capacity/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«capacity» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/capacity.html) on Mova free.