(transitive, slang, originally, _, AAVE) To spread caps (lies) or false rumors (about someone); to slander (someone); to insult (someone's) family.
Why does the "interviewer" have a ball cap on? He looks ridiculous 🙄. I can't even take him seriously
DO IIIIIIIT. Exposed tummy with a shirt and jacket that can't reach to cover it? Cool shoes? Pants that let the diaper peak, especially when your arms are up? That's the fucking DREAM. Hell throw a baseball cap on it…
(transitive, slang, originally, _, AAVE) To spread caps (lies) or false rumors (about someone); to slander (someone); to insult (someone's) family.
That guy is always capping on me—don't believe a word he says.
Cap on means: To spread caps (lies) or false rumors (about someone); to slander (someone); to insult (someone's) family.. It is informal slang, fine in casual speech but not suited to formal contexts. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Add your own interpretation of "cap on".
Slang from Black American Vernacular English (AAVE), hip-hop, drag and ballroom culture, the Caribbean, and NYC street vocabulary. The single largest source of new mainstream English slang in living memory.
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A lie. To "cap" is to lie. "No cap" = no lie. AAVE roots; ubiquitous in 2010s and 2020s slang.
A lie — flat-out untrue, inflated, or an exaggerated claim. "Capping" (verb) is the act of lying. "No cap" means no lie; "cap" on its own means "that's not true." Dropped into chat or replies as a one-word accusation: 🧢.
(slang, transitive) To divide (a drug) into capsules.
The hat sense — separately, a cap is a hat. Disambiguates from the AAVE "lie" sense in context.
In the interview, he gets the Republican voter to agree to lifting the cap on social security taxes. He's very good at laundering progressive positions for centrists/conservatives.
Cap on means: To spread caps (lies) or false rumors (about someone); to slander (someone); to insult (someone's) family.. It is informal slang, fine in casual speech but not suited to formal contexts. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
cap on means: To spread caps (lies) or false rumors (about someone); to slander (someone); to insult (someone's) family.. Register: very informal, slang. Suitable only for casual conversation, chat and social media. Do not use in business, academic or news writing. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.
“Why does the "interviewer" have a ball cap on? He looks ridiculous 🙄. I can't even take him seriously”
“DO IIIIIIIT. Exposed tummy with a shirt and jacket that can't reach to cover it? Cool shoes? Pants that let the diaper peak, especially when your arms are up? That's the fucking DREAM. Hell throw a baseball cap on it and you're set.”
“In the interview, he gets the Republican voter to agree to lifting the cap on social security taxes. He's very good at laundering progressive positions for centrists/conservatives.”
“A repeal of the cap on House size would be salutary too, but wouldn't really address the harms of partisan gerrymandering directly. Going straight at that problem likely requires targeting the reliance on single-member districting itself.”
“Crowdfunding billionaire pedophile vanity projects is not sustainable. We need a cap on child molester support, before we’re making our gruel with non-potable water.”
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Someone in cap mode has fully committed to lying — not slipping up once, but operating on a sustained frequency of dishonesty, exaggeration, or revisionist storytelling. Cap mode isn't a single lie; it's a behavioral state. They've stopped caring whether you believe them. The claims keep coming, each more unhinged than the last, and no amount of evidence seems to break the spell. Calling someone out for being in cap mode is both an accusation and an observation: this person has chosen fiction over reality and they're not coming back anytime soon.