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:
“Never in my life would I imagine cotton candy with pickles,” said Chris Dubois, senior vice president of the fresh food group at Circana, a market research company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
In the living room, a blue resin coffee table shaped like a candy wrapper adds to the playful feel, along with vintage candy dishes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Jeffrey Gundlach, who runs DoubleLine Capital and does not hand out compliments like Halloween candy, put it plainly in a post on social-media platform X: “Even Lacy Hunt has turned bearish, to his credit.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Sweeteners are found in countless everyday products, including soft drinks, candy, desserts, breakfast cereals, snacks, and some medications.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
“No TV? No candy? What kind of kid are you?”
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Candy was found dead on the set of his movie “Wagons East” in 1994.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Appeared in the August 13, 2026, print edition as 'Goldman Doubles Down on ‘Boomer Candy’'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Then I tried Alani Nu’s Cotton Candy, which made the others seem like green juices in comparison.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Meanwhile, Swedish sweet shop chain Candy King, opened its first US outlet in Manhattan last December.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
And after a few awkward seconds, Bit ballooned his chest with bravery, rolled his shoulders back, and said, "Candy for sale."
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
"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
She also totes lavender oil, a portable fan, a rosary and sour candies in a small bag she takes everywhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Initially it was a hat and shoe repair store, with candies sold from a cart out front as an extra earning stream.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Between the musty setup and saccharine score, it’s the film equivalent of a bowl of stale candies.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
They would make candies out of quince paste.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
I studied the pastries while pretending not to listen: tea-infused buns knotted with candied citrus, laminated pastry layered with spiced cream cheese, craggy oat muffins dotted with boysenberry preserves.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 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
Stewart goes on to provide tutorials on how to make those boxed lanterns — along with an array of Halloween-centric treats and decorations: candied apples, homemade costumes, pumpkin-shaped iced cookies and carved pumpkins.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2025
The serving men brought out a heron stuffed with figs, veal cutlets blanched with almond milk, creamed herring, candied onions, foul-smelling cheeses, plates of snails and sweetbreads, and a black swan in her plumage.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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
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
Basket parties bumped him; sticky children tumbled, howling, under his feet, candying his clothes.
From The Trimmed Lamp, and other Stories of the Four Million by O. Henry
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.
