Top/cap/ lid
- Thread starter min300
- Start date
Not really, it depends on the type of container you are describing. For instance a Pill bottle could be said to have a cap but lid or top wouldn't be appropriate whereas a paint tin would have a lid but top or cap wouldn't really fit there and lastly a milk bottle would have a top but cap or lid wouldn't be the right word.
This could get interesting:
pen -- cap
laundry hamper -- lid
toilet -- cover (the furry thing with elastic)
toilet -- lid (the hard thing attached with a hinge)
bottle -- cap
jar -- lid
mixing bowl, storage container -- cover
saucepan, casserole dish -- lid
gas tank -- cap
I have no idea what pattern or principle sorts them out...?
pen -- cap
laundry hamper -- lid
toilet -- cover (the furry thing with elastic)
toilet -- lid (the hard thing attached with a hinge)
bottle -- cap
jar -- lid
mixing bowl, storage container -- cover
saucepan, casserole dish -- lid
gas tank -- cap
I have no idea what pattern or principle sorts them out...?
Actually I had the same thought myself when I wrote my original reply. I think it is like German where you must learn "Der, Die or Das" with the word - there is no overall rule.
Don't expect to find absolute consistency on this issue.
I am not correcting Prairiefire, simply offering my own preferences:
pen --cap top
laundry hamper -- lid
toilet -- cover (the furry thing with elastic)
toilet --lid (the hard thing attached with a hinge) cover
bottle --cap top
jar -- lid
mixing bowl, storage container --cover top or lid
saucepan, casserole dish -- lid
gas tank -- cap
I am not correcting Prairiefire, simply offering my own preferences:
pen --
laundry hamper -- lid
toilet -- cover (the furry thing with elastic)
toilet --
bottle --
jar -- lid
mixing bowl, storage container --
saucepan, casserole dish -- lid
gas tank -- cap
If it's any help, I think a lid is always larger than a cap. Also, we speak of a 'milk bottle top' not 'cap'. But this (on old-fashioned glass bottles) is made of foil, not solid metal or plastic.
Thank you very much joob, prairiefire, panjandrum and Elwintee for your explanations and examples. You helped me to have an idea of how to use them.
Here are some of the examples I saw in deferent resources:
1.'Replace cap after use' .This is a note on my white board marker.
2. but in my Cambridge dictionary there is a picture showing ' top of a pen'.
' a bottle top' .
Example for cap: ' the camera has a lens cap'
Example for lid: ' lid of the jar' and ' lid on the saucepan'.
3. Oxford Advance Genie:
Examples for top: 'Where's the top of this pen?' and ' a bottle with screw top'.
and as the definition of cap: a protective cover for pen, bottle , etc.
Examples for lid: Dustbin lid, the lid of the jar.
But which one would you use for ' a box'?
. You helped me to have an idea of how to use them.Here are some of the examples I saw in deferent resources:
1.'Replace cap after use' .This is a note on my white board marker.
2. but in my Cambridge dictionary there is a picture showing ' top of a pen'.
' a bottle top' .
Example for cap: ' the camera has a lens cap'
Example for lid: ' lid of the jar' and ' lid on the saucepan'.
3. Oxford Advance Genie:
Examples for top: 'Where's the top of this pen?' and ' a bottle with screw top'.
and as the definition of cap: a protective cover for pen, bottle , etc.
Examples for lid: Dustbin lid, the lid of the jar.
But which one would you use for ' a box'?
This must be another AE/BE difference, I've never heard "bottletop" only "bottlecap" (whether we're talking about the cap on the jug of milk, or the candy).
My beverage comes sealed with a cork.
cereal box: box top
photocopy paper box (separate, removable cover): lid
cereal box: box top
photocopy paper box (separate, removable cover): lid
A cap -
is generally small
goes on a bottle or tube
seals something to prevent spills
A lid -
is generally bigger than a cap
goes on jars and other containers
covers but does not seal something, does not prevent spills
A top ....?.... it's a more general term for a cover?
is generally small
goes on a bottle or tube
seals something to prevent spills
A lid -
is generally bigger than a cap
goes on jars and other containers
covers but does not seal something, does not prevent spills
A top ....?.... it's a more general term for a cover?