capitalize C2+ Topic:Communication US /ˈkæpɪtəˌlaɪz/ UK /ˈkæpɪtəlaɪz/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to take advantage of; to write in capital letters; to provide capital The team capitalized on their rivals' mistake to win. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to take advantage of; to... exploitleverageprofitbenefitcash infundfinance Word family Derived forms capitalization Related forms capitalcapitalistcapitalistic Etymology AI details From capital + -ize. Capital is from Latin capitālis ('of the head, principal'), from caput ('head'). capitālis Latin caput Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Communication Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # capitalize **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˈkæpɪtəˌlaɪz/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈkæpɪtəlaɪz/ ## Meanings 1. to take advantage of; to write in capital letters; to provide capital ## Examples - The team capitalized on their rivals' mistake to win. ## Synonyms - exploit - leverage - profit - benefit - cash in - fund - finance ## Derived Forms - capitalization ## Related Forms - capital - capitalist - capitalistic ## Roots and Affixes - Root: capitālis - Root: caput ## Etymology From capital + -ize. Capital is from Latin capitālis ('of the head, principal'), from caput ('head'). ## AI Etymology Capitalize comes from capital + -ize. Capital is from Latin capitālis ('of the head, principal'), from caput ('head'). The historical trail runs through capitālis in Latin and caput in Latin. Morphologically, capitalize is transparent: it draws on capital + -ize. Used as a verb, capitalize now means "take advantage of; to write in capital letters; to provide capital", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as capitalization and related forms such as capital, capitalist, and capitalistic. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English. ## Topics - Communication - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown