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.
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.
to become covered with sugar.
to crystallize into sugar.
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
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
1225–75; Middle English candi, sugre candi candied sugar < Middle French sucre candi; candi ≪ Arabic qandī < Persian qandi sugar < Sanskrit khaṇḍakaḥ sugar candy
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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
All of items, sold individually, were snatched up by Wednesday within 24 hours of sales starting: water bottle caps, ring pop candy, police caution tape, straws, utensils -- as well as a single left AirPod.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Olives were like candy to me as a kid.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
This morning I passed by a candy stand where a man was selling “Cleopatra dates.”
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
She added that as part of this, Minecraft developer Mojang and Candy Crush developer King would now report directly to her.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Appeared in the June 5, 2026, print edition as 'An Ancient Candy Fills a Hole in My Heart'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
He offered the same argument during an interview with CNN’s Candy Crowley in 2011.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2026
Jelly Belly’s parent company Ferrara Candy Co. acquired the brand in 2023 and also owns popular candy brands including Nerds and Sweetarts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
With that, they all laughed and hurried on to their next stop—Cathy’s Candy Store.
From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper
"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
Chamoy has been used by a lot of modern day food makers and chefs with American nostalgic candies, like peach rings and gummy worms, and my personal favorite, Gushers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 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
I hear the crack of impact as candies skitter across the hardwood floor.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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
I ordered my usual: fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, candied yams and a biscuit slathered in grape jelly butter.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2025
The candied yams hit just the right note, the biscuit was rich and fluffy, and even with slightly overcooked noodles, the mac and cheese was still satisfying.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2025
There were men in long narrow stalls set against the sides of buildings who sold toys and different candies— one a type of sweet but hot-tasting, candied ginger that was a bright orange-red in color.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
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
Besides possessing the desirable qualities already described, they answer as nurseries for the rearing of the young, and as small air-tight vessels in which the honey is preserved from souring or candying.
From Langstroth on the Hive and the Honey-Bee A Bee Keeper's Manual by Langstroth, L. L. (Lorenzo Lorraine)
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 Henry, O.
A little practice will enable the candy-maker to form objects that look more like violets than do the flowers themselves after they have been put through the candying process.
From Candy-Making Revolutionized Confectionery from Vegetables by Hall, Mary Elizabeth
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.
