lollipop
Americannoun
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lollipops
plural
noun
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a boiled sweet or toffee stuck on a small wooden stick
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another word for ice lolly
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lollipop
1785–95; dial. lolly tongue + pop 1
Explanation
A lollipop is hard candy on a stick that you lick or suck. You may suck on a lollipop and be surprised to find candy or gum in its center. Bonus! Some lollipops are small, round, and fruity, while others are swirls of color as big as your head. Still other lollipops are long and skinny, or filled with liquid or bubble gum centers. The thing they all have in common is the stick you hold while eating them. Guesses about the origin of the lolli or lolly part of this word include to loll, or "dangle" the tongue, or the north England dialect "tongue" meaning of lolly.
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:
A 91-year-old lollipop man from Greater Manchester is completing his final crossing after 28 years on the job.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026
This pubescent Vance has been adorned with a rainbow propeller hat and a swirly lollipop, morphed into a patriotic Minion from Despicable Me, and rendered as lisping Hans Landa, the Nazi villain from Inglourious Basterds.
From Slate ● Mar. 5, 2025
"When him and Ernie became huge, he must have sometimes looked at that wooden lollipop and thought 'I had no idea'," Ms Fielding said.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2025
As the likes accrue, it’s hard not to be envious, or at least intrigued, by influencers splayed atop a lollipop swing on TikTok.
From Slate ● Nov. 30, 2024
It was a lollipop, easily as big around as Jack’s head.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
She bought lollipops and a teddy bear, and by 10 a.m. she had set up shop outside a campus dining hall where she consoled students Sunday morning with offers of “free mom hugs.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 2025
There’s even a water tower in the center of town painted to look like it’s held up by the long-lived lollipops.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2024
During Vodou ceremonies, lwa are offered treats ranging from papayas and coffee to popcorn, lollipops and cheese puffs.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024
One of the earliest uses of the phrase can be traced back to a 2022 viral post in which a man appears to hand out lollipops to women on a French street.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2023
Sometimes they sucked on lollipops, watching us the way they watched the animals.
From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz
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.
