cap, lid, or just cover? (2025)

Hi
Please look at the picture:

picture one

picture two

What do you call the covers of the cups please?
cap, lid, or just cover?

THANK you in advance

RM1(SS) said:

I would call the black one a cap (mainly, I suppose, because it appears to screw on), and the white ones lids.

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Likewise.

Thank you.

RM1(SS) said:

I would call the black one a cap (mainly, I suppose, because it appears to screw on), and the white ones lids.

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But a pen cap is likely not to be screwed on, and we also call it cap.
And somebody told me that the black one is not even a cup but a thermos. Was he right?

longxianchen said:

Thank you.
And somebody told me that the black one is not even a cup but a thermos. Was he right?

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Since you are the one who provided the picture, we expect you to be able to tell us what it is.

In China, we usually call it vacuum cup. And we do screw the

(as RM1 said) on.

English English:

She's always leaving the top off the toothpaste (tube).

Those cups have lids? Good idea!

longxianchen said:

In China, we usually call it vacuum cup. And we do screw the

cap

(as RM1 said) on.

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If it is a flask and the top (BE), or cap (AE), is intended to be used to drink the contents of the flask, then the top, or cap, is a cup, whether or not it screws on. If it is a cup there would also usually be a separate top, or cap. As in AE, the tops on the cups are "lids" in BE.

Corrado Prizzi said:

She's always leaving the top off the toothpaste (tube).

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JulianStuart said:

He is not not defining the item in the picture as a "lid or cap".

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Actually, he referred to that bottle, and said you can use either one.

Anyway, speaking of a bottle that has a cap that can be twisted on/off, can such a cap be called a top as well? Any difference?

JulianStuart said:

He could be referring to the bottle as an example of screwing but you've seen it, not me. For a bottle, top and cap can both work. I expect there are some people that also refer to it as a lid. I think some fo your recent threads are assuming that such precision of nomenclature is rigidly adhered to by all English speakers I suspect there are only a few versions of Polish and not a lot of variation in such nomenclature - so English is quite differtent and variable around the world.

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So, to sum up, the first picture is a lid, and the second is a cover or a top, right?

The first picture is a glass jar with a metal lid (or cap) on it.

The second picture is a bottle cap.

The terms "lid" and "cap" and "cover" all mean something that closes the top of an open container. Which exact word is used depend on:

1) the kind of container ("bottle/can/jar/jug")

2) the dialect saying this

dojibear said:

The first picture is a glass jar with a metal lid (or cap) on it.

The second picture is a bottle cap.

The terms "lid" and "cap" and "cover" all mean something that closes the top of an open container. Which exact word is used depend on:

1) the kind of container ("bottle/can/jar/jug")

2) the dialect saying this

Click to expand...

I recently understood that if the container is big then the top is called" lid" as in jars, and if the the top small then it's called " a cap". Because all are screwed. Am I right?

Meerana said:

Am I right?

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Not exactly. Caps do not need to be screwed, although some are these days.
Traditional beer and soft-drink bottlecaps were crimped in place and required an opener to access.