Use capital for a seat of government, money available to invest, or an uppercase letter. Use capitol for a building where a legislature meets. A capitol can stand in a capital city.
Name the city, the building, or the money
- “Madison is the capital of Wisconsin.” The word names the seat of state government.
- “The tour began inside the state capitol.” The word refers to the legislative building.
- “The owners raised capital to buy equipment.” The word means money available for the business.
Capitalize Capitol when it is part of a proper name
Write the United States Capitol for the building where Congress meets. Use lowercase in a generic phrase such as the state capitol. For the letter case, write a capital C. Merriam-Webster’s usage note.
Try it
“On our trip to the state ___, we toured the ___ building.”
Show the answer
Use capital for the city and capitol for the building.
See also Navigating the Nuances of Capitalization.
