Word.ws English Dictionary

alternating caps

alternating caps noun: a form of capitalization where capital letters are placed throughout the word(s), formerly used in the script kiddie subculture and now to convey mockery through text messages or in online discussions.

Noun

alternating caps (uncountable)

  1. A form of capitalization where capital letters are placed throughout the word(s), formerly used in the script kiddie subculture and now to convey mockery through text messages or in online discussions.
    • I'm compelled to draw the line at aLtErNaTiNg CaPs.2006, Dan Macsai, ALtErNaTiNg CaPs are damaging our children
    • Nowadays, there's the common practice of typing a word in all caps to indicate SCREAMING, the use of aLteRnAtInG cApS (often associated with SpongeBob memes) to convey mockery2019, Nicole Galluci, A look at the Ubiquitous Habit of capitalizing letters to make A Point

Synonyms of alternating caps

Origin of alternating caps

From alternating + caps.

Questions about alternating caps

What does alternating caps mean?
Alternating caps means a form of capitalization where capital letters are placed throughout the word(s), formerly used in the script kiddie subculture and now to convey mockery through text messages or in online discussions.
What part of speech is alternating caps?
Alternating caps is a noun.

Words near alternating caps in the dictionary

  1. alternateens
  2. alternately
  3. alternateness
  4. alternates
  5. alternating
  6. alternating caps
  7. alternating case
  8. alternating current
  9. alternating currents
  10. alternating function
  11. alternating functions

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: alternating caps (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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