candidacy
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of candidacy
Explanation
Candidacy is the campaign journey someone undertakes to be elected to a position, like running for class president or trying out for a spot on the student council. If you were to officially declare that you were running for president or any other elected position, that is the start of your candidacy. This involves promoting your ideas, convincing others to vote for you, and participating in debates or discussions. Candidacy is a vital part of democratic processes, allowing people to present their qualifications and vision. Whether in school elections or national politics, candidacy is about showing why you’re the best person for the job.
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.
See Examples For:
Similarly, the group Our Revolution, which was founded as a way to carry forward the grassroots organizing behind Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, has thrown its organizing capacity behind Jackson’s candidacy.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
This issue became the principal argument against his candidacy as it became clear that Hamawy was going to likely clinch the nomination.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
They had weighed up the sentences of ineligibility for public office against the "freedom of candidacy" and the "free choice of electors", they explained.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
“My office received dozens of calls from our residents asking how this could be allowed,” Esparza said of Campos’ candidacy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Similar to how I’d initially felt about Barack's candidacy, plenty of black folks couldn't bring themselves to believe that my husband had a real chance of winning.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Those delegates went on to back reforms to the party's primary process that made it easier for insurgent candidacies like Jackson to compete for the party's presidential nomination without backing from the Democratic establishment.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026
His rapid ascension is proof that in an era of intense load management, increasingly specialized bullpens and near-ubiquitious arm injuries, a massive shift is underway in how voters evaluate pitchers’ candidacies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 17, 2026
Finance ministers from the 20 countries sharing the single currency had until Friday to submit their candidacies for the job.
From Barron's ● Nov. 28, 2025
The other three candidates had not even declared their candidacies by June 30.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025
It seemed hardly more than one of the "favorite son" candidacies which every canvass knows in plenty.
From The Negro and the Nation A History of American Slavery and Enfranchisement by Merriam, George Spring
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.
