caper

1 of 3

noun (1)

ca·​per ˈkā-pər 

1

a

: an illegal or questionable act or escapade

With luck, Bobby Joe could have become a rich man. But lacking an excess of smarts to begin with, he had pulled off this caper largely due to the efforts of some brainier military personnel who set the thing up for him in Saigon.

—John Nichols

b

: an amusing movie or story about such an act or escapade

This offbeat, Runyonesque caper shows uncanny insight into the psychology of the con man and his all-too-willing victims.

—Sybil Steinberg

2

: a capricious escapade : prank

The boys were disciplined for their foolish capers.

3

: a frolicsome leap

He was so happy he cut a caper on the steps.

I feel as if I could be anything or everything; as if I could rant and storm, or sigh, or cut capers in any tragedy or comedy in the English language.

—Jane Austen

caper

2 of 3

verb

capered; capering ˈkā-p(ə-)riŋ 

intransitive verb

: to leap or prance about in a playful manner

lambs capering in the meadow

caper

3 of 3

noun (2)

1

: any of a genus (Capparis of the family Capparaceae, the caper family) of low prickly shrubs of the Mediterranean region

especially : one (C. spinosa) cultivated for its buds

2

: one of the greenish flower buds or young berries of the caper pickled and used as a seasoning or garnish

Did you know?

Caper in Latin means "a male goat". Anyone who has watched a young goat frolic in a field or clamber onto the roof of a car knows the kind of crazy fun the English word caper —which is also a verb—is referring to. A capriole is a backward kick done in midair by a trained horse. Capricorn, meaning "horned goat", is a constellation and one of the signs of the zodiac. And a capricious act is one that's done with as little thought as a frisky goat might give it.

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• antic
• capriccio
• dido
• escapade
• frolic
• gag
• jest
• knavery
• monkeyshine(s)
• practical joke
• prank
• rag [chiefly British]
• roguery
• shavie [Scottish]
• shine(s)
• trick
• waggery

Verb

• cavort
• disport
• frisk
• frolic
• gambol
• lark
• rollick
• romp
• sport

Examples of caper in a Sentence

Noun (1)

long-ago college capers that have become more rollicking and daring with each recounting

Verb

a young goat capering in its pen

as summer drew to a close, the children spent their days wistfully capering on the beach

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Even so, the spirited new Netflix thriller from Joe Barton (The Lazarus Project) is a remarkably fresh, exciting, and laugh-out-loud funny caper, driven by a sharp comedic sensibility and wildly entertaining performances from stars Ben Whishaw and Keira Knightley. —Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 28 Nov. 2024

Consistently building in her career since her breakout turn in Alexander Payne’s Downsizing, Chau is coming off of turns in Apple’s hit Doug Liman caper The Instigators, Yorgos Lanthimos’s Kinds of Kindness, Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, and Netflix’s The Night Agent. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 20 Nov. 2024

Verb

Chapman persuaded Ford Motor Co. to fulfill his V-8 engine requirements and built the first of what were to become revolutionary Lotus-Fords, pencil-thin cars that looked like spiders capering through the turns. —Mike Kupper, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2024

The plot dissolves into sheer lunacy (in both senses of the word), as the whole company comes out to caper in a park in the moonlight — ostensibly to frighten Falstaff, but really just for the unleashed joy of taking over a public space. —Helen Shaw, Vulture, 9 Aug. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun (1)

probably by shortening & alteration from capriole

Noun (2)

back-formation from earlier capers (taken as a plural), from Middle English caperis, from Latin capparis, from Greek kapparis

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb

1588, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing caper

• cut a caper

Kids Definition

caper

1 of 3 noun

ca·​per ˈkā-pər 

: a pickled flower bud or young berry of a low prickly shrub of the Mediterranean region that is used as a seasoning

caper

2 of 3 verb

capered; capering -p(ə-)riŋ 

: to leap about in a lively way

caper

3 of 3 noun

1

: a playful bounding leap or spring

2

: a playful or mischievous trick

3

: an illegal or questionable act

Etymology

Noun

from earlier capers "caper shrub or berry" (mistaken as a plural), from Middle English caperis (same meaning), from Latin capperis "caper shrub"

Verb

probably an altered form of English capriole "a playful leap, a leap by a trained horse," from early French capriole or early Italian capriola (both, same meaning), derived from Latin capreolus "goat, male deer"