candlelight
Americannoun
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the light of a candle.
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a dim artificial light.
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twilight; dusk.
noun
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the light from a candle or candles
they ate by candlelight
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( as modifier )
a candlelight dinner
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dusk; evening
Etymology
Origin of candlelight
before 1000; Middle English candel-liht, Old English candel-lēoht. See candle, light 1
Vocabulary lists containing candlelight
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.
“Dark restaurants, candlelight, tablecloth restaurants, Sinatra music, that whole vibe of the ‘Italian restaurant’ lends itself well to romance, and spaghetti and meatballs just happen to be the most iconic ‘Italian’ dish.”
From Salon • Feb. 14, 2026
I even wrote my diary entries by candlelight.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026
Families on Saturday night held candlelight vigils outside El Rodeo prison east of Caracas and El Helicoide, a notorious jail run by the intelligence services, holding signs with the names of their imprisoned relatives.
From Barron's • Jan. 11, 2026
It’s been particularly painful learning about candlelight vigils or events meant to honor fire victims, he said, without any invitation for families to participate.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2026
It was no ghost, merely a gray-furred pelt stuffed with sawdust and outfitted with yellow glass eyes that reflected the candlelight in a hauntingly lifelike way.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
