candy
noun
any of a variety of confections made with sugar, syrup, etc., often combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts, etc.
candy
1 American
[kan-dee]
/ ˈkæn di /
noun
-
candies
plural
-
any of a variety of confections made with sugar, syrup, etc., often combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts, etc.
-
a single piece of such a confection.
-
Slang. cocaine.
-
someone or something that is pleasing or pleasurable, usually in a superficial way (often used in combination).
The show is candy, but enjoy it for what it is.
verb (used with object)
-
candies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
candied,
past participle, past
-
candying
present participle
-
to cook in sugar or syrup, as sweet potatoes or carrots.
-
to cook in heavy syrup until transparent, as fruit, fruit peel, or ginger.
-
to reduce (sugar, syrup, etc.) to a crystalline form, usually by boiling down.
-
to coat with sugar.
to candy dates.
-
to make sweet, palatable, or agreeable.
verb (used without object)
-
candies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
candied,
past participle, past
-
candying
present participle
-
to become covered with sugar.
-
to crystallize into sugar.
Candy
2
American
[kan-dee]
/ ˈkæn di /
noun
candy
British
/ ˈkændɪ /
noun
-
confectionery in general; sweets, chocolate, etc
-
a person or thing that is regarded as being attractive but superficial
arm candy
-
informal very easy to accomplish
verb
-
to cause (sugar, etc) to become crystalline, esp by boiling or (of sugar) to become crystalline through boiling
-
to preserve (fruit peel, ginger, etc) by boiling in sugar
-
to cover with any crystalline substance, such as ice or sugar
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
candysimple
-
candiessimple
-
have candiedperfect
-
has candiedperfect
-
am candyingprogressive
-
are candyingprogressive
-
is candyingprogressive
-
have been candyingperfect progressive
-
has been candyingperfect progressive
Past
-
candiedsimple
-
had candiedperfect
-
was candyingprogressive
-
were candyingprogressive
-
had been candyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of candy
1225–75; Middle English candi, sugre candi candied sugar < Middle French sucre candi; candi ≪ Arabic qandī < Persian qandi sugar < Sanskrit khaṇḍakaḥ sugar candy
Explanation
Candy is a sugary sweet treat. Halloween is partly about dressing up in costumes, but mostly it's about the candy. Your favorite candy may be sweet and fruity, or so sour you can barely stand to eat it. Other people prefer chocolate when it comes to candy. Candy is also a verb, meaning "coat with a sugary glaze," — you might candy cherries or almonds. And when something's made of candy, the word becomes an adjective: "But it's only a candy cigarette!" The word comes from the Arabic qandi, with its Persian root quand, "cane sugar."
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:
“Cover me in candy, I’m so lucky that I get to know you.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
And while it’s good to replace that metaphorical candy with something healthier, we cannot flog ourselves into not needing something sweet to survive the bitter world we live in.
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2026
By the time I remember it’s happening, all the good sweets are gone from grocery store shelves, so any visiting trick-or-treaters get butterscotch suckers, breath mints or candy corn.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
Several TikTokers influencers claim you can save money and be the coolest house on the block with bigger candy this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
Lola asks, her teeth black from licorice candy.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
The original cast, several of whom had been in the celebrated 1972 Toronto production of “Godspell,” were John Candy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty and Dave Thomas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Speaking to the media on Thursday, McDermott likened it to the hapless journey undertaken by Steve Martin and John Candy in their 1987 road-trip comedy.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
The factory makes The Game of Life, Candy Land and other Hasbro bestsellers—including the standard version Monopoly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
In New York, vegetarian restaurant Dirt Candy was one of the very first to ban tipping back in 2015.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
He ran up to Candy Man and flung himself at him, wrapping his arms around Candy Man’s legs.
From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds
So a big bag of mini candies may only satisfy 30 kids, by her reasoning.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
Hershey has faced similar litigation over other seasonal Reese’s candies, including ghost-shaped chocolates without depicted facial features and football-shaped candies that lacked the laces shown on their packaging.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
"I don't know how long we will be like this," said Stefani Garate, 26, who used to sell coconut candies on the beach.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Mars researchers figured out how to deliver convincing replicas of its red, orange and yellow candies using natural ingredients like beets and turmeric.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
His job was to make candies and sweets, uncrate the fruits, and to keep the place clean.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Other pizzas that piqued my interest include a half-white-and-half-red sauce pizza topped with candied bacon, ham, sweet onions, fennel and basil, and a blue cheese-focused pizza topped with pears, rosemary, shallots and onions.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
Cake fillings of almond crunch and toasted pecan praline and candied lemon, while jackfruit and palm sugar bring distinct South-East Asian flavours.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
There’s the Ukrainian poppy seed cake makivnyk, the Middle Eastern hot chocolate sahlep, the Spanish nougat turrón and the Chinese candied fruit tanghulu, among others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
Pecans — toasted or candied — introduce flavor and texture contrast: that little crunch can transform the dish entirely.
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2025
He tucked the candied chestnuts under his wing, then picked up the collar and lead and beckoned to Matthias.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Some confectioners infuse their candying syrup with botanicals, like bay leaves, rosemary or peppercorns, for added intrigue.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2023
It’s subtle but transformative to know what sugar feels like in your fingers at different stages of candying.
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2017
The fresh root candied after the manner directed in our Dispensatory for candying eryngo root, is said to be employed at Constantinople as a preservative against epidemic diseases.
From The Botanist's Companion, Volume II by William Salisbury
If left for a few weeks longer on the trees, they expand, and become what are termed "mother cloves," fit only for seed or for candying.
For people had to provide for winter, and there was much pickling and preserving and candying of fruits, and storing commoner things so that they would keep well.
From A Little Girl in Old Philadelphia by Amanda Minnie Douglas
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
