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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

See Examples For:

cocoa Cocoa

So I started playing: pumpkin purée for softness, cold coffee to deepen the cocoa, melted butter, two whole zucchini and a frankly generous amount of chocolate.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

That episode was blamed for chocolate-price inflation after floods followed by dry winds devastated cocoa harvests in key producers Ivory Coast and Ghana.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Hershey points out a more fundamental objection to Finemore’s thesis: El Niño years can bring good cocoa harvests as well as bad ones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

The cocoa was grown at the University of Reading's International Cocoa Quarantine Centre, a collection of more than 300 types of cocoa plant.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

He sipped at his cocoa and talked and talked.

From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen

Cocoa extract did not produce a significant improvement in functional health scores across the study population as a whole.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

Cocoa markets remain volatile due to speculators and climate change risks, but prices are unlikely to return to 2025 highs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Cocoa futures rose 15% this week to $4,200 a metric ton, reaching a three-month high, driven by investor positioning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

The country's equivalent of Cocobod - the Coffee and Cocoa Council - also guaranteed a price last year that is now way above the international price.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026

I put Cocoa in my backpack and let her head stick out the top.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas