caper - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

A goofy little joke or prank, a crime, or a ridiculous adventure is called a caper. For example, your quest for an American newspaper turned into a caper that took you all over the Irish countryside.

Caper originates from the Italian word capriolare, meaning “jump in the air,” and indeed, one meaning is "frolicking play or light-hearted dancing." Little kids like to caper at family parties — it gets them tons of attention. Other kinds of capers might get you jail time because a caper can also be an outlandish crime spree, or a wild activity. Finally, capers are the very flavorful pickled flower bud found in Mediterranean cooking.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: caper

1	n v	a playful leap or hop jump about playfully
2	n	a crime (especially a robbery)
3	n	pickled flower buds used as a pungent relish in various dishes and sauces

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: caper

1

n a playful leap or hop

Synonyms:: capriole

Type of:: bounce, bound, leap, leaping, saltation, spring
a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards

n gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement

Synonyms:: frolic, gambol, play, romp

Types:: show 8 types...; hide 8 types...; coquetry, dalliance, flirt, flirtation, flirting, toying
playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest; craziness, folly, foolery, indulgence, lunacy, tomfoolery
foolish or senseless behavior; game
frivolous or trifling behavior; horseplay
rowdy or boisterous play; teasing
playful vexation; word play
playing on words or speech sounds; meshugaas, mishegaas, mishegoss
(Yiddish) craziness; senseless behavior or activity; buffoonery, clowning, frivolity, harlequinade, japery, prank
acting like a clown or buffoon

Type of:: diversion, recreation
an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates

n a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement

Synonyms:: antic, joke, prank, put-on, trick

Types:: show 6 types...; hide 6 types...; dirty trick
an unkind or aggressive trick; practical joke
a prank or trick played on a person (especially one intended to make the victim appear foolish); April fool
a practical joke or trick played on the first day of April; hotfoot
a practical joke that involves inserting a match surreptitiously between the sole and upper of the victim's shoe and then lighting it; rag
a boisterous practical joke (especially by college students); snipe hunt
an elaborate practical joke in which the unsuspecting victim hunts a snipe and is typically left in the dark holding a bag and waiting for the snipe to run into it

Type of:: diversion, recreation
an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates

v jump about playfully

Type of:: bound, jump, leap, spring
move forward by leaps and bounds

2

n a crime (especially a robbery)

Synonyms:: job

Type of:: robbery
larceny by threat of violence

3

n pickled flower buds used as a pungent relish in various dishes and sauces

Type of:: pickle
vegetables (especially cucumbers) preserved in brine or vinegar

n any of numerous plants of the genus Capparis

Types:: show 5 types...; hide 5 types...; Capparis arborea, native pomegranate
small Australian tree bearing edible fruit resembling the pomegranate; Capparis cynophallophora, Jamaica caper tree, caper tree
shrub of southern Florida to West Indies; Capparis flexuosa, bay-leaved caper, caper tree
shrub or small tree of southern Florida to Central and South America; Capparis mitchellii, native orange
small Australian tree bearing edible dark purple fruit; Capparis spinosa, common caper
prostrate spiny shrub of the Mediterranean region cultivated for its greenish flower buds which are pickled

Type of:: bush, shrub
a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems