Meanings
nouncap stealing (uncountable)
- uncountablebiologySynonym of cap snatching.
Influenza viruses require host cell nuclear functions for at least two critical steps in their multiplication cycle: mRNA splicing and a unique process called cap stealing.
1996 August 15, Friedemann Weber et al., “Nucleoprotein viral RNA and mRNA of Thogoto virus: a novel "cap-stealing" mechanism in tick-borne orthomyxoviruses?”, in Journal of Virology, volume 70, number 12Synonyms: cap snatching
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of cap snatching.
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Cite this entry
APA
cap stealing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cap%20stealing
MLA
“cap stealing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cap%20stealing. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cap stealing,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cap%20stealing.
Source: cap stealing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.