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:
At an assisted-living home, Vinit Shinde lay paralyzed in bed attempting to suck on a lollipop.
From Slate ● Dec. 8, 2025
A lollipop man said he had been told he could no longer high-five children while they are crossing the road because it slows down traffic.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2025
They also bought some of Eric's pipes, typewriter and his first ever prop - a wooden lollipop.
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
Or gifts like a stick of gum, a purple lollipop.
From "Ghost Boys" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
"Their public relations team just seemed to try and convince us that the world was all lollipops and unicorns."
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
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
During Vodou ceremonies, lwa are offered treats ranging from papayas and coffee to popcorn, lollipops and cheese puffs.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024
Pamela, for instance, was known to perform as the Lollipop Lady, who, of course, handed out lollipops to park guests, Henck told The Times in 2006.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
Her scrubs have lollipops on them, even though this isn’t a pediatric unit.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
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.
