More TikTok Slang: The Meaning Of “Cap” And “No Cap”

It’s a common problem for many TikTok users. Just when they think they’ve got a handle on most of the acronyms and slang terms commonly used in TikTok videos and comments, they come across another one that stumps them.

The word “cap” is a good example.

It obviously doesn’t refer to the hats that baseball players (and many other people) wear regularly. It also has nothing to do with the noise-making strips that are used in cap guns or the explosive devices (blasting caps) used to detonate dynamite.

In TikTok posts, “capping someone” also doesn’t mean killing them — but we’re getting a bit closer.

What Does Cap Mean on TikTok?

“Capping” a person or “busting a cap in someone’s ass” is commonly believed to stem from African American Vernacular English (AAVE). There are certainly examples of that usage in Black literature dating back nearly 100 years, and more recently in rap songs like “I Don’t Wanna Have to Pop a Cap” by Deek Rivers and “Bust a Cap” by The Jacka. 

However, those terms actually date back to the 1800s and were somewhat common references to the use of percussion caps in the period’s firearms.

Why did we say in the introduction that “capping someone” was getting closer? It’s because the way that “cap” is used on TikTok does stem from AAVE and was more widely popularized in rap songs, notably 2017’s “No Cap” by Future and Young Thug.

In brief, “cap” is used on TikTok to mean deliberately lying or exaggerating, while “no cap” means “no lie.” Once the song “No Cap” became a hit, the terms became standard slang on social media platforms, and TikTok users have embraced it for years. There’s even a continuing trend on the app that lets people decide whether claims are true, called “Fact or Cap.”

The terms are used pretty much how you’d expect.

• User one: “I hooped against SGA in high school.” User two: “Stop capping!” or “That’s cap!”
• User one: “Beyoncé is still fire!” User two: “No cap!”
• User one: “He says he’s making 2K a day!” User two: “He’s capping!”

The terms aren’t only used in TikTok content and comments, of course. “Cap” and “no cap” are now heard in celebrity interviews, seen in commercials, and used in everyday conversation.

If you’re somewhat out of touch, though, now you’ll know what the phrases mean, no matter where you hear or see them.