capital
Wealth in the form of money or other assets owned by a person or organization or available for a purpose such as starting a company or investing.
Capital can refer to financial resources, but also to 'human capital' (skills) or 'social capital' (networks). In finance, it's the funds used to generate more wealth.
Word relationships
- funds: More general term for money available, 'capital' often implies money intended for investment or business.
- resources: Broader, can include non-monetary assets.
Commonly confused with
- income: 'Capital' is the accumulated wealth or assets; 'income' is the money received, especially on a regular basis, from work or investments.
Word family
- capitalize (verb): To provide with capital; to take the chance to gain advantage from.
- capitalist (noun): A person who has a lot of capital and invests it in business.
Collocations
- working capital
- venture capital
- human capital
- social capital
- raise capital
- invest capital
- seed capital
Idioms & expressions
- capital punishment (unrelated meaning)
Example sentences
- "She decided to invest her initial capital in a diversified portfolio of blue-chip stocks." Start-up companies often struggle to raise sufficient capital.
- "The venture capitalist provided the necessary capital for the innovative new company to scale its operations." Access to capital is essential for business expansion.
Memory hook
Think of 'CAPITAL' as the 'CAP' (top) amount of money you have to start or invest. CAPITAL: 'CAP' of money.
When not to use
Do not use 'capital' when referring to a small, insignificant amount of money or a general expense without the implication of investment or wealth generation.
Fun facts
- The term 'capital city' also derives from 'caput,' meaning the 'head' city of a region.
- In economics, capital is one of the three factors of production, along with land and labor.
Related words
Also appears in
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