of or relating to cocoa.
of the color of cocoa.
a powder made from cocoa beans after they have been roasted, ground, and freed from most of their fatty oil
a hot or cold drink made from cocoa and milk or water
a light to moderate brown colour
( as adjective )
cocoa paint
First recorded in 1700–10; earlier cocao, cacoa, variant of cacao
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.
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That episode boosted cocoa prices after fierce dry winds in key producers Ghana and Ivory Coast wrecked the crop, pushing up chocolate prices.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
The more specific lesson is that bananas may not be the best choice when the goal is to maximize flavanol intake from berries, grapes, cocoa, or other flavanol rich foods.
From Science Daily • May 24, 2026
Ice cream parlours have previously pointed to the mounting costs of ingredients like sprinkles and cocoa powder which have hit the industry.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
She’s a huge fan of chocolate, coffee and cardamom, so I’ll be baking her a decadent chocolate olive oil cake paired with a spiced whipped cream that calls for more cocoa powder.
From Salon • May 10, 2026
Hiroshi watches me with small eyes the color of cocoa powder.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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.
