You’re watching an Instagram video when you see the letters CAP, and you aren’t sure what it means. CAP is an abbreviation used in texting and in social media videos on the popular platform TikTok.
What does CAP mean?
“CAP” is an abbreviation or slang used to indicate that someone is lying or making something up. The term “no cap” often appears in social media videos and posts as a way of the poster saying they aren’t lying or making up the content of the video.
CAP is more common on social media platforms and isn’t often used in person, though sometimes young teens will say that something is CAP, or someone is capping. It is unclear exactly where this abbreviation originated.
How to use CAP
- “You CAP” (to convey “you’re lying”)
- “I saw this at the store today no CAP.”
- “CAP” posted in a comment indicating something is a falsehood.
- “I’m not capping you, this really happened.”
- CAP can be used when accusing someone of lying or making something up. “That sounds like CAP to me.”
Using CAP the right way
CAP is one of the more difficult slang terms to use in texts and online. The right way to use it is either in a caption of a video indicating that it is “no cap” or not made up, or when accusing someone of making something up (i.e., “you’re capping me”).
CAP Variations
Because the origin of CAP is unknown, there really aren’t any variations. You may occasionally see the hat emoji replacing the word CAP in videos or texts. For example, someone could post “That’s (cap emoji)” to indicate that they think something is a lie.
Should you worry about your child using CAP?
CAP is mostly a harmless social media term and can even prove to be educational as your child learns what is made up and what isn’t made up in their life. It is important that you talk to your child about using the word CAP, however, so they know that it is slang and not proper English. It is also critical to remind children to always speak nicely to others online, even if they think someone made something up.
Other Text Abbreviations You Should Know: