Merriam-Webster's Word Central

February 20, 2017

capital (adjective): \KAP-uh-tul\
What does it mean?: 1 : punishable by or resulting in death2 : belonging to the series A, B, C, etc. rather than a, b, c, etc.3 : being the location of a government4 : of or relating to accumulated wealth5 : excellent
How do you use it?: Selena accidentally sent her text in all capital letters, and had to explain to her friend that she wasn't really angry.
Are you a word wiz?: Which sentence below properly uses "capital"?

A. We traveled to the capital city of the province.

B. He accumulated a lot of capital.

C. We toured the Capital while we were in Washington.

D. She was condemned to death and was capitaled on March 1.

If you chose A, you did a capital (sense 5) job! Answer B uses "capital" as a noun. While this is a correct use of the noun "capital," it is not the correct use of the adjective, and we're looking at the adjective today. Answer C also uses our word as a noun, but there's another problem with it: it should use the word "Capitol" and not "Capital." These words are commonly confused; you can figure out which word to use by remembering that the Capitol (with an "o") is where Congress (with an "o") meets. Finally, Answer D is incorrect because it uses "capital" as a verb, leaving Answer A as the right choice.