Cap Height
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Definition
Cap height is the typographic measurement of the height of a flat uppercase letter (such as 'H' or 'I') from the baseline to the top of the letter, expressed as a fraction of the font's em square.
Explanation
Cap height typically ranges from 60% to 75% of a typeface's point size; a 16 pt font might have a cap height of around 11 pt. Designers use cap height to align mixed-size text optically and to size icons or small caps that should visually match capital letters. In CSS, the 'cap' unit (supported in modern browsers) directly references this value, enabling precise text-relative sizing.
RELATED ARTICLES
RELATED TERMS
Em
The em is a relative typographic unit equal to the current element's font size; in a 16 px context, 1 em equals 16 px.
Pica
The pica is a typographic unit equal to 12 points or exactly 1/6 of an inch (approximately 4.233 mm), used primarily to measure column widths and other layout dimensions.
Twip
A twip (twentieth of a point) is a typographic unit equal to 1/20 of a printer's point, or 1/1440 of an inch (approximately 17.64 micrometers).
X-Height
X-height is the typographic height of a typeface's lowercase letters, specifically the height of a flat lowercase 'x' measured from the baseline, typically expressed as a fraction of the em size.