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• cocoa
  cocoa

  noun

  a powder made from roasted, husked, and ground seeds of the cacao, Theobroma cacao, from which much of the fat has been removed.
• Cocoa
  Cocoa

  noun

  a city in E central Florida.

cocoa

¹ American  

[koh-koh] / ˈkoʊ koʊ /

noun

1. a powder made from roasted, husked, and ground seeds of the cacao, Theobroma cacao, from which much of the fat has been removed.

2. cacao.

3. a beverage made by mixing cocoa powder with hot milk or water.

4. brown; yellowish brown; reddish brown.

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adjective

1. of or relating to cocoa.

2. of the color of cocoa.

cocoa ² American  

[koh-koh] / ˈkoʊ koʊ /

noun

1. coco.

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Cocoa ³ American  

[koh-koh] / ˈkoʊ koʊ /

noun

1. a city in E central Florida.

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cocoa British  

/ ˈkəʊkəʊ /

noun

1. a powder made from cocoa beans after they have been roasted, ground, and freed from most of their fatty oil

2. a hot or cold drink made from cocoa and milk or water

3. 1. a light to moderate brown colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      cocoa paint

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Etymology

Origin of cocoa¹

First recorded in 1700–10; earlier cocao, cacoa, variant of cacao

Origin of cocoa²

1545–55; misspelling of coco, by confusion with cocoa ¹

Explanation

The dark, chocolate-brown powder you use to make brownies or devil's food cake is called cocoa. Cocoa consists of finely ground roasted cacao beans. You can use cocoa to make many chocolate treats, including pudding, cake, cookies, and hot chocolate — which is also called cocoa. Although cocoa powder smells delicious, it has to be mixed with sugar or some other sweetener for it to taste good. When the word cocoa was first used in the early 18th century, it was based on a mistake, mixing up the letters of cacao, the seed that's used to make cocoa.

Example Sentences

Cocoa accounts for about 7% of Ghana's GDP, or national income, and the beans' export makes up around 15% of the country's foreign exchange earnings.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

Cocoa behaved differently, with elevated levels in stems, leaves, and fruits.

From Science Daily • Feb. 17, 2026

An example of conflicting news that Kumar provided me appeared this fall in the Wall Street Journal, entitled “Hershey Raises Outlook as Cocoa Prices Moderate.”

From MarketWatch • Dec. 24, 2025

The International Cocoa Organization projects that cocoa supplies are expected to go from a deficit of nearly 500,000 metric tons last year to a surplus of nearly 150,000 tons.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025

She picks Cocoa up with her teeth, and Alex and I climb on her back.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas