cotton candy

American

noun

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

cotton candy British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cotton candy

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

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.

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

If ever an actress was born to play a role, it’s Ms. Grande as the ultra-feminine Glinda, a girl who seems to be spun out of cotton candy and floats around in a literal bubble.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

We walked to the cotton candy stall slowly, people swarming around us like busy flies.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023