caber

From Scottish Gaelic cabar (“spar, pole”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪbə/, /ˈkɑː-/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪbɚ/, /ˈkɑ-/
• Rhymes: -eɪbə(ɹ)

caber (plural cabers)

1. A long, thick log held upright at one end and tossed in the Highland games.

• caber toss

• Brace, acerb, brace, cabre, cabré

• IPA^(key): (Central) [kəˈβɛ]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [kəˈbə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kaˈbeɾ]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

caber (first-person singular present cabo, first-person singular preterite cabí, past participle cabut)

1. alternative form of cabre

• “caber”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “caber”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “caber” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “caber” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Old Galcian and Old Galician-Portuguese caber, from Latin capere (“to take in, contain”), from Proto-Italic *kapiō, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂pyéti, from the root *kap- (“to seize, grab”).

• IPA^(key): /kaˈbeɾ/ [kɑˈβ̞eɾ]
• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Hyphenation: ca‧ber

caber (first-person singular present caibo, first-person singular preterite couben, past participle cabido)
caber (first-person singular present caibo, first-person singular preterite coubem or coube, past participle cabido, reintegrationist norm)

1. to fit (in something)
2. to hold or contain; to be capable of containing

• malcabido

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “caber”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “caber”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “caber”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “caber”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

• caupre

From Old Occitan caber, from Latin capere (“to take in, contain”), from Proto-Italic *kapiō, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂pyéti, from the root *kap- (“to seize, grab”).

• Audio (Languedoc):

  (file)

caber

1. to fit (in)

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

From Old Galician-Portuguese caber, from Latin capere (“to take in, contain”), from Proto-Italic *kapiō, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂pyéti, from the root *kap- (“to seize, grab”). Compare Galician caber, Spanish caber, Italian capire (“to understand”) and Romanian încăpea.

• Hyphenation: ca‧ber

caber (first-person singular present caibo, first-person singular preterite coube, past participle cabido)

1. (intransitive) to fit (no matter if space or volume is left) [with em ‘in something’]

   Este tamanho não cabe em mim.

   This size doesn't fit me.

2. (intransitive) to traverse, pass through or across (a way, path, opening etc. no matter if space is left) [with em]
3. (intransitive) to hold; to be capable of containing [with em]

   Nesse auditório cabem duas mil pessoas.

   That auditorium holds two thousand people.

4. (intransitive) to be responsible for; to be up to somebody [with a]

   Cabe a você fazer uma escolha.

   It's up to you to make a choice.

5. (intransitive) to be allotted, to be distributed [with a ‘to’]

   A cada um coube uma pequena parte.

   A small part was distributed to each person.

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:caber.

• (to pass through): passar
• (to be responsible for): competir, pertencer
• (to fall to): calhar

• “caber”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “caber”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “caber”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Inherited from Old Spanish caber, from Latin capiō, capere (“take, hold, contain”), from Proto-Italic *kapiō, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂pyéti, from the root *kap- (“to seize, grab”). Compare English have, capture, catch and chase. See also Spanish cazar, cachar.

The 1st person singular of the present reflects an original */ˈkai̯po/, through metathesis from Latin capiō (compare Portuguese caibo). Similarly the preterite continues */ˈkau̯pi/, metathesis of a Vulgar Latin perfect stem *capuī (compare Portuguese coube).

• IPA^(key): /kaˈbeɾ/ [kaˈβ̞eɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: ca‧ber

caber (first-person singular present quepo, first-person singular preterite cupe, past participle cabido)

1. (transitive) to fit, enter (to be able to be contained (by something; regardless of whether space or volume remains))

   Synonym: entrar

   Quise tomar prestados los pantalones de mi hermana pequeña, pero no me cabían.

   I wanted to borrow my little sister's trousers, but they didn't fit me.

2. (transitive) to traverse, pass through or across (a way, path, door, hole, opening, mouth, orifice, etc.)

   Synonym: pasar

3. (transitive) to be held or contained (to be held inside (something) or passed through (regardless of whether space or volume remains))
4. (transitive, intransitive) to have, hold, should be (in certain phrases)

   No os quepa duda... ― Do not have any doubt about...

   Cabe señalar que... ― It should be noted that...

   No cabe comparación entre las dos cosas.

   The two things aren't comparable.

5. (transitive, figuratively) to be acceptable, accepted, permitted, permissible, allowable, etc.

   Synonym: tener cabida

6. (archaic) to take
7. (archaic) to understand
8. to be possible

   Cabe eso. ― There is room for it.

• When something or somebody fits into something, in a strict sense, usually an adverb such as justo, justamente, or apenas is added.
• This verb always implies an active sense; i.e., the subject always does the action of this verb, although some translations to English may have a passive form.

• ajustar

• “caber”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025