caramel
[ kar-uh-muhl, -mel, kahr-muhl ]
/ ˈkær ə məl, -ˌmɛl, ˈkɑr məl /
Save This Word!
noun
a liquid made by cooking sugar until it changes color, used for coloring and flavoring food.
a kind of chewy candy, commonly in small blocks, made from sugar, butter, milk, etc.
a yellowish brown or tan color.
VIDEO FOR CARAMEL
WATCH NOW: Why Do These Words Have Different Pronunciations?
How is it possible that a word, spelled the same way, can have so many different pronunciations? Caramel, data, either ... how do you pronounce these words, and which way is correct?
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!
Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!
Question 1 of 12
On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
Origin of caramel
1715–25; <French <Spanish or Portuguese caramelo<Late Latin calamellus little reed (by dissimilation), equivalent to calam(us) reed (see calamus) + -ellus diminutive suffix; meaning changed by association with Medieval Latin cannamella, canna mellis, etc., sugar cane, equivalent to Latin cannacane + mel honey (genitive mellis)
Words nearby caramel
caragana, carageen, Caramanlis, caramba, carambola, caramel, caramelize, carangid, carangoid, carapa, carapace
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for caramel
British Dictionary definitions for caramel
caramel
/ (ˈkærəməl, -ˌmɛl) /
noun
burnt sugar, used for colouring and flavouring food
a chewy sweet made from sugar, butter, milk, etc
See also crème caramel
Word Origin for caramel
C18: from French, from Spanish caramelo, of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012