1. The formation of a negative ion by an atom or molecule when it acquires an extra free electron.
2. A radioactive transformation in which a nucleus acquires an electron from an inner orbit of the atom, thereby transforming, initially, into a nucleus with the same mass number but an atomic number one less than that of the original nucleus (capture of the electron transforms a proton into a neutron). This type of capture is accompanied by emission of an X-ray photon as the vacancy in the inner orbit is filled by an outer electron.