cap

In slang, cap means a lie, and capping means lying or exaggerating. If someone says “that’s cap,” they think what you said isn’t true. Its better-known partner is “no cap,” meaning “no lie.”

What does cap mean?

Cap can be a noun (“that’s cap”), a verb (“stop capping”) or a quick one-word reply (“cap”). It covers outright lies, but also bragging and exaggeration, like someone claiming they bench-press twice their weight. The blue cap emoji 🧢 is shorthand for it.

How to use it

• “You finished the whole game in a day? Cap.”
• “He’s capping, he’s never even been to Paris.”
• “That story is cap and everyone knows it.”
• “Reply to his post with 🧢 and say nothing else.”

Where it comes from

Dictionary.com notes that “cap” has meant to brag, exaggerate or lie in Black vernacular English since the early 1900s, and traces it to ritualized insult games from the 1960s. Modern use is strongly tied to Atlanta hip-hop, and the phrase “no cap” helped push both words into mainstream Gen Z slang in the late 2010s.

Related terms

• no cap: no lie, for real
• sus: suspicious
• deadass: seriously
• receipts: proof, often screenshots
• gassed: in UK slang, “gassing” also means talking rubbish

See more terms like this in our Gen Z slang dictionary.