candidate
Americannoun
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candidates
plural
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a person who seeks an office, honor, etc..
a candidate for governor.
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a person who is selected by others as a contestant for an office, honor, etc.
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a person who is deserving of or seems destined for a certain end or fate.
Such a reckless spender is a candidate for the poorhouse.
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a student studying for a degree.
Candidates for the B.A. will have to meet certain minimum requirements.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a person seeking or nominated for election to a position of authority or honour or selection for a job, promotion, etc
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a person taking an examination or test
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a person or thing regarded as suitable or likely for a particular fate or position
this wine is a candidate for his cellar
Usage
What does candidate mean? Candidate most commonly means someone who’s seeking to be elected, hired, or appointed to a position, especially a political office or job. The word candidate most commonly refers to a politician seeking election or a person who has applied for a job. But it can be used in several other ways to refer to someone or something under consideration for some kind of treatment or status. Example: We have more than 100 applicants, but almost none of them are qualified candidates for this job.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of candidate
First recorded in 1605–15, candidate is from the Latin word candidātus “clothed in white” (adective), “candidate for office” (noun, in reference to the white togas worn by those seeking office); see candid, -ate 1
Explanation
A candidate is someone running for political office — or anyone being considered for a position or opportunity of some sort. When you hear about candidates, it's usually in discussions of politics. People are always wondering, "Who will be the candidates in the next Presidential election?" Every President, and every office-holder, was once a candidate. When you're a candidate, you raise money, hold rallies, make campaign promises, and do everything you can to win. You can also say someone is a candidate for a job, prize, and other things. Someone could jokingly say, "He's a candidate to be my next husband."
Vocabulary lists containing candidate
Election Lingo
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Electoral Elocution: The Verbiage of Voting
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Indiana county council candidate Jaime West has the nomination locked up.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026
James Talarico, the Democratic Senate candidate from Texas, denied rumors that he had been secretly hospitalized in an Ohio psychiatric facility, calling it "the craziest thing I've ever heard."
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Developer Paul Schon said that neither candidate has figured out how to make L.A. affordable, but he’s leaning toward Bass because he thinks she’s more pro-development.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
In a TV debate Tuesday night, Iowa’s Senate candidate Josh Turek was asked about letting Iran control the strait.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Pa wasn’t too pleased that his candidate, Hubert Humphrey, had lost the election.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
They are also fertile ground for opposition parties and their candidates.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Some macrophages can enter tumors and attack cancer cells, making them attractive candidates for cancer immunotherapy.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
The two candidates have been somewhat aligned in trying to tweak the tax.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
The company said it had records of genuine candidates who had secured jobs and sponsorship through its services.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
“Once we decide on the candidates, we’ll vote,” Mrs. Tracy said.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
It was when I was candidating for my first parish that I preached at a little village down in Pennsylvania.
From Harper's Round Table, October 1, 1895 by Various
I believe the whole church is satisfied with the result of our peculiar method of candidating.
From Laicus; Or, the Experiences of a Layman in a Country Parish. by Lyman Abbott
When we think of it, what a ghoulish business "candidating" is!
From The Warriors by Anna Robertson Brown Lindsay
He once told me of an early experience in candidating.
From A Backward Glance at Eighty Recollections & comment by Charles A. (Charles Albert) Murdock
Meantime that modern church is still very modern indeed, and at this present time its pulpit is vacant—they are candidating!
From Divers Women by Pansy
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
