candidate
Americannoun
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candidates
plural
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a person who seeks an office, honor, etc..
a candidate for governor.
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a person who is selected by others as a contestant for an office, honor, etc.
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a person who is deserving of or seems destined for a certain end or fate.
Such a reckless spender is a candidate for the poorhouse.
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a student studying for a degree.
Candidates for the B.A. will have to meet certain minimum requirements.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a person seeking or nominated for election to a position of authority or honour or selection for a job, promotion, etc
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a person taking an examination or test
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a person or thing regarded as suitable or likely for a particular fate or position
this wine is a candidate for his cellar
Usage
What does candidate mean? Candidate most commonly means someone who’s seeking to be elected, hired, or appointed to a position, especially a political office or job. The word candidate most commonly refers to a politician seeking election or a person who has applied for a job. But it can be used in several other ways to refer to someone or something under consideration for some kind of treatment or status. Example: We have more than 100 applicants, but almost none of them are qualified candidates for this job.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of candidate
First recorded in 1605–15, candidate is from the Latin word candidātus “clothed in white” (adective), “candidate for office” (noun, in reference to the white togas worn by those seeking office); see candid, -ate 1
Explanation
A candidate is someone running for political office — or anyone being considered for a position or opportunity of some sort. When you hear about candidates, it's usually in discussions of politics. People are always wondering, "Who will be the candidates in the next Presidential election?" Every President, and every office-holder, was once a candidate. When you're a candidate, you raise money, hold rallies, make campaign promises, and do everything you can to win. You can also say someone is a candidate for a job, prize, and other things. Someone could jokingly say, "He's a candidate to be my next husband."
Vocabulary lists containing candidate
Election Lingo
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Electoral Elocution: The Verbiage of Voting
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 2
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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:
This is the first time since Brazil returned to democratic elections in 1989 that a candidate who placed second in the first round went on to win the runoff.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026
But it’s not just about finding a good-looking candidate, or a charming candidate, or even a personable candidate.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
The result was partly due to a $1.9 billion write-down for neuromuscular drug candidate del-desiran after it missed the mark in a late-stage clinical trial.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
When he re-entered office in 2023, he vowed it would be his last term, and yet his party endorsed him as their candidate again this year, even though he will turn 81 on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
The couple at least had each other; it was the young woman who seemed the most likely candidate for tragedy.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
El-Sayed has learned a lot from more centrist candidates in the party.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
That suggests da Silva also drew substantial support from voters who had backed lesser-known candidates who were defeated in the first round, including those on the right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Their Students’ List of candidates includes various experts in their fields but with little or no experience in politics or state jobs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
It is understood Howe and Nagelsmann both feature prominently on the list of candidates the club has explored to potentially replace him, and that both managers are aware of United's interest.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
The organization opposed black candidates for public office whom they deemed too accommodationist and its members walked alongside the pioneering black students integrating Durham’s public schools.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
I believe the whole church is satisfied with the result of our peculiar method of candidating.
From Laicus; Or, the Experiences of a Layman in a Country Parish. by Lyman Abbott
What said the elegant modern church, that during the process of this change was undergoing a candidating siege?
From Divers Women by Pansy
After a little rest and some candidating for a church, I took a small parish at Highland Falls, about a mile from West Point, New York, entering on my labors in January, 1866.
From Taken Alive by Edward Payson Roe
Meantime that modern church is still very modern indeed, and at this present time its pulpit is vacant—they are candidating!
From Divers Women by Pansy
When we think of it, what a ghoulish business "candidating" is!
From The Warriors by Anna Robertson Brown Lindsay
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
