Capitol Hill

noun

: the legislative branch of the U.S. government

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Capital and Capitol: Which One to Use Where

What a pair these are: they sound identical and look nearly identical and both have meanings that relate to government. Mastering their use, however, is simple.

The key is this: capitol, the one with an "o," is very limited in use. It appears in the term Capitol Hill, and is used to refer to one very particular and famous building, to some other similar buildings, and, occasionally, to a group of buildings that includes those similar buildings. For all other meanings, the word you want is capital.

This means that in a state's capital city is a building or group of buildings properly referred to with the word capitol, with an "o." In this use capitol is synonymous with statehouse: both refer to the building or group of buildings where a state legislature meets. The phrase capital city utilizes capital because it refers to a city, not to a building or group of buildings.

Capitol with a capital "C" refers to the particular building in Washington, D.C. where the U.S. Congress meets. It often appears before other nouns in phrases like the Capitol building and Capitol police, and is very frequently used in the term Capitol Hill, which refers both to the legislative branch of the United States government as well as to the location of the Capitol building. The Capitol, like many state capitol buildings, has a rounded dome that is somewhat reminiscent of the top of an "o," which may help some remember the "o" spelling. Note that the word capital as used to describe an uppercase letter, like in the phrase capital "C", utilizes capital.

The word capital has three distinct homographs, two for noun uses and one for adjective uses. Readers should consult those entries for the various meanings of capital, but can be assured that they all end in al, rather than ol.

Examples of Capitol Hill in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But once that process is decided — hopefully smoothly — the White House will have to start to work with Capitol Hill, which is where, for all the bluster of the presidency, the laws that govern the U.S. are written. —Evan Clark, WWD, 5 Nov. 2024

Members of Congress are not allowed to continue in their prior jobs while working on Capitol Hill, although their net worth continues to increase through investments. —Kate Gibson, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2024

But as his ambitions for his crypto exchange scaled, so too did his need to curry favor on Capitol Hill. —Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024

Far removed from Capitol Hill, Sunday’s edition of the show was filmed in front of a green screen, with viewers at home instead seeing a photorealistic version of Rockefeller Center behind the anchor desk. —Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Capitol Hill, Washington, site of the U.S. Capitol

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above