cotton candy

American  

noun

1. a fluffy, sweet confection whipped from spun sugar and gathered or wound around a stick or cone-shaped paper core.

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cotton candy British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): candyfloss.  Austral name: fairyfloss.  a very light fluffy confection made from coloured spun sugar, usually held on a stick

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Etymology

Origin of cotton candy

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

Example Sentences

But the perfect moment under cotton candy skies happened during the band’s penultimate song, “A Long December” off 1996’s “Recovering the Satellites.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026

I can see how it might feel like it’s been treated like a ball of cotton candy to give it away.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

This combination makes them extraordinarily low in density -- more like planetary-sized cotton candy than solid, rocky worlds.

From Science Daily • Jan. 31, 2026

She can munch on pizza made out of molten lava, or apply snowflakes and cotton candy as lip gloss.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025

We stared at our twisted reflections in the mirror maze, ate powdered-sugar-dusted elephant ears, banged out our aggression on the bumper cars, and got sticky fingers from cotton candy.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson