cotton candy

American  

noun

1. a fluffy, sweet confection whipped from spun sugar and gathered or wound around a stick or cone-shaped paper core.

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cotton candy British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): candyfloss.  Austral name: fairyfloss.  a very light fluffy confection made from coloured spun sugar, usually held on a stick

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Etymology

Origin of cotton candy

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

Example Sentences

Last month, as the sky faded to cotton candy pink, Colby spotted nearly a dozen sheep scaling the side of a mountain.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2026

She can munch on pizza made out of molten lava, or apply snowflakes and cotton candy as lip gloss.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025

If ever an actress was born to play a role, it’s Ms. Grande as the ultra-feminine Glinda, a girl who seems to be spun out of cotton candy and floats around in a literal bubble.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

While Kardashian’s role was as delicious and ephemeral as a piece of cotton candy, Lesley Manville’s part in Murphy’s series “Grotesquerie” was the real substantial meal.

From Salon • Dec. 16, 2024

She had read many of them, because he recommended them, but they were like cotton candy that so easily evaporated from her tongue’s memory.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie