chocolate
Americannoun
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chocolates
plural
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a preparation of the seeds of cacao, roasted, husked, and ground, often sweetened and flavored, as with vanilla.
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a beverage made by dissolving such a preparation in milk or water, served hot or cold.
a cup of hot chocolate.
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candy made from such a preparation.
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an individual piece of this candy.
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any syrup or flavoring made from this preparation or artificially imitating its flavor.
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a dark brown color.
adjective
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made, flavored, or covered with chocolate.
chocolate cake; chocolate ice cream.
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having the color of chocolate; dark-brown.
noun
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a food preparation made from roasted ground cacao seeds, usually sweetened and flavoured
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a drink or sweetmeat made from this
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a moderate to deep brown colour
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( as adjective )
a chocolate carpet
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Usage
Spelling tips for chocolate The word chocolate is hard to spell because the second o is often not emphasized when pronounced—many people say [ chawk-lit ], not [ chok-uh-lit ]. Also, the final syllable -late is pronounced [ lit ], not like the word late. How to spell chocolate: You can remember how the word chocolate starts by remembering that it is sometimes abbreviated as choco, as in choco chips and Choco Taco. You can remember the ending by remembering that chocolate is often eaten as dessert, meaning that it’s eaten late.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chocolate
First recorded in 1600–1610; from Spanish, from Nahuatl chocolātl, from chocol-, of unknown meaning (but perhaps from xococ “bitter, sour”) + ātl “water”
Explanation
Chocolate needs little introduction or definition — it is world famous as a candy, dessert ingredient, hot drink, holiday gift, flavor, and common craving. Roasted cacao beans make chocolate. If you say, "I want chocolate," this usually means a candy bar or piece of chocolate, though chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, and chocolate shakes all have chocolate as an ingredient. If someone tells you, "My living room is chocolate," don't get too excited — it means the walls are painted the same rich brown as the delicious treat.
Vocabulary lists containing chocolate
Brown
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English Words Derived from Nahuatl
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National Cookie Day
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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:
From wafting tar pits and smells of the beach to native plants and a chocolate factory, our readers smelled Los Angeles and told us about it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
The first thing out of my oven were chocolate chip cookies.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
Ants are disappearing from the table in Brazil, one Danish chef is opting for cocoa-free chocolate and Japan is serving up warm-water fish, culinary stars disclosed at the Apapaxoa gastronomic festival on Mexico's Caribbean coast.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
Louis Vuitton has added chocolate shops inside some stores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
“When we get there, can I have a chocolate cupcake?”
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
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
The family have since returned to Cineworld to thank the staff who helped them, taking chocolates, gifts and a card.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
With U.S. bombing paused, Iran has reopened its airspace and resumed flights, allowing some pilgrims to fly directly to Medina, where they were welcomed by Saudi volunteers with flowers and chocolates, Saudi television showed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
In exchange, the EU will give access to Mexico to the bloc's market for products like coffee, fruits, chocolates and agave syrup.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
“Business? We gotta pay for these chocolates? You said they was free.”
From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore
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.
