cocoa
1 Americannoun
adjective
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of or relating to cocoa.
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of the color of cocoa.
noun
noun
noun
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a powder made from cocoa beans after they have been roasted, ground, and freed from most of their fatty oil
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a hot or cold drink made from cocoa and milk or water
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a light to moderate brown colour
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( 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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing cocoa
Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
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Brown
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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.
Cocoa demand hasn’t recovered much since the spike.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
The Coffee and Cocoa Council sets the price in Ivory Coast and licenses a number of co-operatives and companies to export the dried beans.
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026
In response to the hardship faced by producers, the state's Coffee Cocoa Council announced in January it would buy at the record price tens of thousands of tonnes of cocoa piling up across the country.
From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026
Cocoa behaved differently, with elevated levels in stems, leaves, and fruits.
From Science Daily • Feb. 17, 2026
I’m thinking it’s impossible for her to fit in, but she shrinks to the size of a lizard, and I put her in my backpack alongside Cocoa.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.