cap

What it means

A lie or exaggeration. Calling something 'cap' means you don't believe it, while 'no cap' means you're being totally honest and serious.

Words like “cap” are exactly the kind of vocabulary our English vocabulary size test measures — find out how many English words you know.

Examples

• He said he ran a 4-minute mile? That's cap.
• No cap, this is the best burger I've ever had.
• You met Drake? Stop the cap, you didn't.
• I'm telling you no cap, I saw the whole thing happen.

Where it comes from

Rooted in AAVE, where 'capping' has long meant lying or bragging; it went mainstream around 2017-2018, boosted by rap lyrics and the blue 🧢 emoji used to call out lies on social media.

Related slang