candle
Americannoun
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candles
plural
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a long, usually slender piece of tallow or wax with an embedded wick that is burned to give light.
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something resembling a candle in appearance or use.
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Optics.
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(formerly) candela.
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Also called international candle. a unit of luminous intensity, defined as a fraction of the luminous intensity of a group of 45 carbon-filament lamps: used from 1909 to 1948 as the international standard.
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a unit of luminous intensity, equal to the luminous intensity of a wax candle of standard specifications: used prior to 1909 as the international standard. c., c
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verb (used with object)
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candles,
present (3rd person singular)
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candled,
past participle, past
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candling
present participle
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to examine (eggs) for freshness, fertility, etc., by holding them up to a bright light.
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to hold (a bottle of wine) in front of a lighted candle while decanting so as to detect sediment and prevent its being poured off with the wine.
idioms
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hold a candle to, to compare favorably with (usually used in the negative).
She's smart, but she can't hold a candle to her sister.
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burn the / one's candle at both ends. burn.
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worth the candle, worth the trouble or effort involved (usually used in the negative).
Trying to win them over to your viewpoint is not worth the candle.
noun
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a cylindrical piece of wax, tallow, or other fatty substance surrounding a wick, which is burned to produce light
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physics
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another name for candela
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to exhaust oneself, esp by being up late and getting up early to work
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informal to be inferior or contemptible in comparison with
your dog doesn't hold a candle to mine
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informal not worth the price or trouble entailed (esp in the phrase the game's not worth the candle )
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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candlesimple
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candlessimple
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have candledperfect
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has candledperfect
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am candlingprogressive
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are candlingprogressive
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is candlingprogressive
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have been candlingperfect progressive
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has been candlingperfect progressive
Past
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candledsimple
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had candledperfect
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was candlingprogressive
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were candlingprogressive
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had been candlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of candle
First recorded before 900; Middle English candel, candle, condel, Old English candel, condel, from Latin candēla, equivalent to cand(ēre) “to shine, gleam white” + -ēla noun suffix; see candid
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:
In addition to Stewart’s ill-conceived effort to raise awareness of the unhoused crisis, the offending image was part of a carousel promoting her QVC candle collection, which she touted as “perfect for Halloween!!!”
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
At a vigil on Tuesday, locals queued patiently in the aisle of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, waiting for their turn to light a candle.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
"Everybody's been coming in. They might light a candle for him, pray for him at Mass," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Oh, yes, he was told: The stories “couldn’t hold a candle to the reality.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
I hold the candle a few inches below the article, waving the flame back and forth.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Many people were carrying flowers or candles to leave at the shrines that now dot the cobblestones, one marking each spot where someone died.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
Krakow's Main Market Square remained sealed off Sunday as mourners brought candles in tribute to six people killed by a gunman who authorities said was "fascinated by far-right ideologies".
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026
He’s in a vested suit, his mask, a sort of triangular sundial, reflecting light off of the candles at a head table.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
Because their peak brightness can be standardized, astronomers use them as cosmic reference points, often called standardizable candles.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
Dvorah swept her hands through the air, like she was grabbing the glow and warmth of the candles and bringing it to wash over her.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Unlike with most poultry, the eggs cannot be candled to check on the embryo growing inside for the 52 days between laying and hatching.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2022
Early on, she candled eggs for a poultry farm while he played “frisbee on the green.”
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 20, 2018
Many so-so lines are salvaged by the neat professional finesse of Grant, Day and Meadows, with Gig Young contributing an amusing portrayal of a financial adviser who is having his head candled.
From Time Magazine Archive
Sample eggs are then candled to determine whether the agent is properly infecting the embryos.
From Time Magazine Archive
When it was night, he lighted the candled and said to Zubeideh, 'The dervishes have not brought the ten thousand dinars that they promised me: but indeed they are poor men.'
From The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume III by John Payne
Unclear, though certificates on the walls congratulate her on her mastery of ear candling and reiki.
From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2015
His wife, when not mothering their five boys and three girls, spent grueling days standing at a local produce house as she examined poultry eggs under a light - what they call candling.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 2, 2014
Sam Cruz, a 12-year IRS employee who works in candling, said he finds something left behind maybe two or three times for every thousand envelopes.
From Washington Post
After the candling, I receive exfoliation and rejuvenation treatment.
From Time Magazine Archive
This saved the wages of the egg twirlers, whose method of candling eggs, as it was called, was far less rapid than the Separator.
From Mother by Owen Wister
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