a chewy candy made of sugar or corn syrup boiled down with butter or oil, pulled or stretched back and forth to incorporate air bubbles, then rolled, twisted, and cut into pieces.
Informal. flattery.
a chewy sweet made of brown sugar or molasses and butter, boiled and then pulled so that it becomes glossy
a less common term for toffee
First recorded in 1815–25; northern English dialect variant of toffee; see origin at toffee ( def. )
Taffy is a very sweet, chewy candy. You can find brightly colored boxes of taffy in tourist gift shops. Taffy is made by repeatedly stretching a mixture of boiled sugar, butter, and flavoring. The stretching, or "pulling" of taffy is what gives it a light, chewy consistency. In coastal towns, it's usually called "salt water taffy," a name that was coined in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1920s. While salt is often an ingredient in salt water taffy, it doesn't actually contain any salt water.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The term describes how the crust stretches and thins in the middle, similar to the narrowed "neck" that forms when a piece of saltwater taffy is pulled apart.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2026
It’s basically taffy with a peanut butter center, a joyous merger that has been made since the 1970s by Annabelle Candy Co. in Hayward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2023
“About 750 million years ago, the supercontinent began to thin and pull apart like warm taffy because of expansion of the continental crust,” Sandra H.B.
From National Geographic ● Oct. 13, 2023
The lost piece of taffy is ultimately the only “damage” the deer inflicted on the candy store.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 29, 2023
The hands were linked, but some of the fingers looked dislocated and each ring finger stretched like taffy, connecting into the line of a woman’s chin.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
While Joel Beckett, who played Dawn Tinsley's fiancé Lee, and David Schaal, who played Glynn, also known as Taffy, spoke to BBC Radio Berkshire about what it was like to film the show.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Thus began my hunt for signs of Choc-O’s afterlife, including visits to retro candy stores stocking hard-to-find Bonomo Turkish Taffy, Zagnut bars and Beemans chewing gum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
For a while, I was rationing out my friend Taffy Akner’s last book, “Long Island Compromise.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025
The Magic Clown on NBC, which ran from 1949 to 1954, was created as an advertisement for Bonomo Turkish Taffy.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2025
Sneaky grabs some packs of M&M’s, and I get Butterfingers and Laffy Taffy.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
They always flew along the wires of this place like a kettle of jeweled hawks, cresting over the rooftops of turreted houses and quaint shops all stuck together like assorted taffies.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
It is therefore necessary to use some lowering agent for all boilings intended for clear goods, such as drops, taffies, rocks. &c.
From The Candy Maker's Guide A Collection of Choice Recipes for Sugar Boiling by Fletcher Manufacturing Company
Borax has been found useful with any water when making goods to be exposed in the window or on the counters, such as taffies, rocks and clear boiled sugars generally.
From The Candy Maker's Guide A Collection of Choice Recipes for Sugar Boiling by Fletcher Manufacturing Company
Betty thoughtfully tapped her fingers on the arms of the chaise lounge and Carolyn offered the box of taffies.
From Betty Lee, Sophomore by Grove, Harriet Pyne
Candies that contain milk or butter, or sticky materials, such as taffies, should always be poured on a buttered surface.
From Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume 5: Fruit and Fruit Desserts; Canning and Drying; Jelly Making, Preserving and Pickling; Confections; Beverages; the Planning of Meals by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
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.
