HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
n. pl. ca·pac·i·ties 1. a. The ability to receive, hold, or absorb something: the storage capacity of a car's trunk. b. The maximum amount that can be contained: a bin filled to capacity. 2. The power to learn or retain knowledge; mental ability. 3. a. The ability to do, make, or accomplish something; capability: a comedian's capacity for making people laugh. b. The maximum or optimum amount that can be produced: factories operating below capacity. 4. The quality of being suitable for or receptive to specified treatment: the capacity of elastic to be stretched. 5. The position in which one functions; role: in your capacity as sales manager. 6. Legal qualification or authority: the capacity to make an arrest. 7. Electricity Capacitance. adj. Filling a space with the most it can hold: a capacity crowd at the concert. [Middle English capacite, from Old French, from Latin capācitās, from capāx, capāc-, spacious; see CAPACIOUS.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
