candle
Americannoun
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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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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:
Argentina “doesn’t hold a candle to the greatest rivalry in sports—Barcelona vs. Real Madrid.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
He said he planned to light a candle in the local church in her memory.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
And it is funny to have a cherry candle on top of your birthday cake.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
"Surf wax, which we put on the boards, is not available at all in Gaza, so we resort to candle wax so we can keep this sport going," he added.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
The backdrop is a row of Christmas trees flanked by a cardboard menorah and a Kwanzaa candle set.
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
They announced their engagement in September last year after Tom proposed in Dubai in front of the luxury hotel, Burj Al Arab, with a host of candles and flowers.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
After suffering the loss of her child, journalist Esme Saleh leaned into her creative side, painting folk art-inspired taper candles as a way to move forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
I can still see my own mother covering her eyes as she lit our family’s Shabbos candles, whispering private prayers for her children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
“I was setting the table and didn’t have flowers or anything to add to decorate, so I thought, ‘I have these candles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Once she was done, the admiral relit the candles.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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
While psychiatrists candled the accused's head, the city focused on its ugly old Cook County jail.
From Time Magazine Archive
If an egghead is candled, what shows up?
From Time Magazine Archive
Buying on a candled or graded basis, usually not only means rots cut, but that a variation of the price is made for two or more grades of merchantable eggs.
From The Dollar Hen by Hastings, Milo M. (Milo Milton)
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
First: The encouragement of the cash buying of produce, and, if possible, the candling of all eggs with proper deduction for loss.
From The Dollar Hen by Hastings, Milo M. (Milo Milton)
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.
