| Noun | 1. | capacity - ability to perform or produce Antonyms: incapacity - lack of physical or natural qualifications |
| 2. | capacity - the susceptibility of something to a particular treatment; "the capability of a metal to be fused" Synonyms: capability | |
| 3. | capacity - the amount that can be contained; "the gas tank has a capacity of 12 gallons" Synonyms: content | |
| 4. | capacity - the maximum production possible; "the plant is working at 80 per cent capacity" | |
| 5. | capacity - a specified function; "he was employed in the capacity of director"; "he should be retained in his present capacity at a higher salary" | |
| 6. | capacity - (computer science) the amount of information (in bytes) that can be stored on a disk drive; "the capacity of a hard disk drive is usually expressed in megabytes" | |
| 7. | capacity - an electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored Synonyms: capacitance, electrical capacity | |
| 8. | capacity - the power to learn or retain knowledge; in law, the ability to understand the facts and significance of your behavior Synonyms: mental ability Antonyms: incapacity - lack of intellectual power | |
| 9. | capacity - tolerance for alcohol; "he had drunk beyond his capacity" |
CAPACITY. This word, in the law sense, denotes some ability, power,
qualification, or competency of persons, natural, or artificial, for the
performance of civil acts, depending on their state or condition, as defined
or fixed by law; as, the capacity to devise, to bequeath, to grant or convey
lands; to take; or to take. and hold lands to make a contract, and the like.
2 Com. Dig. 294; Dane's Abr. h.t.
2. The constitution requires that the president, senators, and
representatives should have attained certain ages; and in the case of the
senators and representatives, that out these they have no capacity to serve
in these offices.
3. All laws which regulate the capacity of persons to contract, are
considered personal laws; such are the laws which relate to minority and
majority; to the powers of guardians or parents, or the disabilities of
coverture. The law of the domicil generally governs in cases of this kind.
Burge. on Sureties, 89.
| (communications) | capacity - The maximum possible data transfer rate of a communications channel under ideal conditions. The total capacity of a channel may be shared between several independent data streams using some kind of multiplexing, in which case, each stream's data rate may be limited to a fixed fraction of the total capacity. |