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• cocoa
  cocoa

  noun

  a powder made from roasted, husked, and ground seeds of the cacao, Theobroma cacao, from which much of the fat has been removed.
• Cocoa
  Cocoa

  noun

  a city in E central Florida.

cocoa

¹ American  

[koh-koh] / ˈkoʊ koʊ /

noun

1. a powder made from roasted, husked, and ground seeds of the cacao, Theobroma cacao, from which much of the fat has been removed.

2. cacao.

3. a beverage made by mixing cocoa powder with hot milk or water.

4. brown; yellowish brown; reddish brown.

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adjective

1. of or relating to cocoa.

2. of the color of cocoa.

cocoa ² American  

[koh-koh] / ˈkoʊ koʊ /

noun

1. coco.

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Cocoa ³ American  

[koh-koh] / ˈkoʊ koʊ /

noun

1. a city in E central Florida.

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cocoa British  

/ ˈkəʊkəʊ /

noun

1. a powder made from cocoa beans after they have been roasted, ground, and freed from most of their fatty oil

2. a hot or cold drink made from cocoa and milk or water

3. 1. a light to moderate brown colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      cocoa paint

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Etymology

Origin of cocoa¹

First recorded in 1700–10; earlier cocao, cacoa, variant of cacao

Origin of cocoa²

1545–55; misspelling of coco, by confusion with cocoa ¹

Explanation

The dark, chocolate-brown powder you use to make brownies or devil's food cake is called cocoa. Cocoa consists of finely ground roasted cacao beans. You can use cocoa to make many chocolate treats, including pudding, cake, cookies, and hot chocolate — which is also called cocoa. Although cocoa powder smells delicious, it has to be mixed with sugar or some other sweetener for it to taste good. When the word cocoa was first used in the early 18th century, it was based on a mistake, mixing up the letters of cacao, the seed that's used to make cocoa.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cocoa Cocoa

Researchers separated them into three groups and exposed each group to one of three samples: liquified dark chocolate containing 90% cocoa, liquified milk chocolate containing 60% cocoa, or water as a control.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026

The zucchini I grated into those brownie-inspired muffins certainly lodged no complaint as it disappeared beneath the cocoa and dark chocolate.

From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026

Hershey points out a more fundamental objection to Finemore’s thesis: El Niño years can bring good cocoa harvests as well as bad ones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Food security master's student Maha Khan created the chocolate bar by harvesting, fermenting and processing the Reading-grown cocoa.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Bright shiny hair and dark brown skin like mahogany cocoa.

From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat

Cocoa extract did not produce a significant improvement in functional health scores across the study population as a whole.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

Cocoa futures prices have been climbing, having only recently returned to the levels seen before the last El Niño.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

But world supply of cocoa has returned to being in surplus, according to data from the International Cocoa Organization published in February.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

Nana Obodie Boateng Bonsu, president of the Concerned Cocoa Farmers Association, recognises that Cocobod faces challenges but suggests their pay cuts should go towards paying farmers.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026

The brick walls snap shut, sealing me, Alex, JP, and Cocoa in the darkened tunnel.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas