capitalization

/kæpɪɾələˈzeɪʃɪn/

/kæpɪtələˈzeɪʃɪn/

Other forms: capitalizations

Capitalization means using capital, or upper-case, letters. Capitalization of place names, family names, and days of the week are all standard in English.

Using capital letters at the start of a sentence and capitalizing all the letters in a word for emphasis are both examples of capitalization. Capitalization also means the act of gaining an advantage from some opportunity: "Her capitalization of the voters' frustration made it much easier for her to win the election." The earliest meaning, however, was purely financial, from the sense of capitalize that means "convert financial assets to capital."

Definitions of capitalization

1. noun

   writing in capital letters
   synonyms: capitalisation

   type of:

   writing

   letters or symbols that are written or imprinted on a surface to represent the sounds or words of a language
2. noun

   the act of capitalizing on an opportunity
   synonyms: capitalisation

   type of:

   development, exploitation

   the act of making some area of land or water more profitable or productive or useful
3. noun

   an estimation of the value of a business
   synonyms: capitalisation

   types:

   market capitalisation, market capitalization

   an estimation of the value of a business that is obtained by multiplying the number of shares outstanding by the current price of a share

   type of:

   estimate, estimation

   a judgment of the qualities of something or somebody
4. noun

   the sale of capital stock
   synonyms: capitalisation

   types:

   overcapitalisation, overcapitalization

   (business) too much capitalization (the sale of more stock than the business warrants)

   type of:

   marketing, merchandising, selling

   the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money