cotton candy

American  

noun

• cotton candies
  plural

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

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cotton candies
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of cotton candy

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cotton candy

He pointed to one of his favorite trees, a Japanese katsura, that smells like cotton candy when its leaves begin to fall in autumn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

It’s a piece of delicious, fluffy cotton candy, sweet and quick-dissolving.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

But the perfect moment under cotton candy skies happened during the band’s penultimate song, “A Long December” off 1996’s “Recovering the Satellites.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2026

I can see how it might feel like it’s been treated like a ball of cotton candy to give it away.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 6, 2026

He only remembered flashes—fluffy pink cotton candy that melted on his tongue, hundreds of lights flashing from the rides, music flowing from a nearby stage.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---