any of a variety of confections made with sugar, syrup, etc., often combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts, etc.
a single piece of such a confection.
Slang. cocaine.
someone or something that is pleasing or pleasurable, usually in a superficial way (often used in combination).
The show is candy, but enjoy it for what it is.
to cook in sugar or syrup, as sweet potatoes or carrots.
to cook in heavy syrup until transparent, as fruit, fruit peel, or ginger.
to reduce (sugar, syrup, etc.) to a crystalline form, usually by boiling down.
to coat with sugar.
to candy dates.
to make sweet, palatable, or agreeable.
to become covered with sugar.
to crystallize into sugar.
confectionery in general; sweets, chocolate, etc
a person or thing that is regarded as being attractive but superficial
arm candy
informal very easy to accomplish
to cause (sugar, etc) to become crystalline, esp by boiling or (of sugar) to become crystalline through boiling
to preserve (fruit peel, ginger, etc) by boiling in sugar
to cover with any crystalline substance, such as ice or sugar
1225–75; Middle English candi, sugre candi candied sugar < Middle French sucre candi; candi ≪ Arabic qandī < Persian qandi sugar < Sanskrit khaṇḍakaḥ sugar candy
Candy is a sugary sweet treat. Halloween is partly about dressing up in costumes, but mostly it's about the candy. Your favorite candy may be sweet and fruity, or so sour you can barely stand to eat it. Other people prefer chocolate when it comes to candy. Candy is also a verb, meaning "coat with a sugary glaze," — you might candy cherries or almonds. And when something's made of candy, the word becomes an adjective: "But it's only a candy cigarette!" The word comes from the Arabic qandi, with its Persian root quand, "cane sugar."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hook always wanted to bite Cosmo with his few remaining yellowed, tiny teeth that Delilah compared to candy corn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Jeffrey Gundlach, who runs DoubleLine Capital and does not hand out compliments like Halloween candy, put it plainly in a post on social-media platform X: “Even Lacy Hunt has turned bearish, to his credit.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Sweeteners are found in countless everyday products, including soft drinks, candy, desserts, breakfast cereals, snacks, and some medications.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
All of items, sold individually, were snatched up by Wednesday within 24 hours of sales starting: water bottle caps, ring pop candy, police caution tape, straws, utensils -- as well as a single left AirPod.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
I watched him crossing the Barteljorisstraat with his ladder to Kuiper’s candy store.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Sharma is cutting the number of games Microsoft publishes and is investing more in its most popular franchises, including Minecraft, Candy Crush and Fallout.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Plaintiffs Randall and Candy Renick, whose Altadena home was damaged, said they were charged nearly three times the maximum permitted rate for nearly 10 months.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
Mis-Teeq's second studio album Eye Candy featured what became their best known hit, Scandalous, a more traditional pop-R&B song which also charted in the US after being used in the 2004 film Catwoman.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
He offered the same argument during an interview with CNN’s Candy Crowley in 2011.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2026
“Listen, can you stay upstairs with Candy for a little while? I have to run an errand.”
From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead
"I don't know how long we will be like this," said Stefani Garate, 26, who used to sell coconut candies on the beach.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
The background jar stands alone, while the piece in the foreground overflows with a rainbow of plants, flowers, fruit, chamoy candies, gummies and a single real butterfly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Initially it was a hat and shoe repair store, with candies sold from a cart out front as an extra earning stream.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Claire’s first advertising campaign under the new owners is a dreamlike, colorful celebration of the five senses featuring bubble writing, gummy candies, press-on nails and the requisite slime in digital, social media and influencer ads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
Wanting to enjoy every moment, I stared at the hard candies in the different wooden barrels.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
Cake fillings of almond crunch and toasted pecan praline and candied lemon, while jackfruit and palm sugar bring distinct South-East Asian flavours.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
There’s the Ukrainian poppy seed cake makivnyk, the Middle Eastern hot chocolate sahlep, the Spanish nougat turrón and the Chinese candied fruit tanghulu, among others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
It’s garnished with berries and candied rosemary and ginger.
From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2025
The company also has seasonal offerings, including a cookie butter latte and a candied cherry energy drink.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
She stokes it with more hunks of turkey and whole candied yams.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Some confectioners infuse their candying syrup with botanicals, like bay leaves, rosemary or peppercorns, for added intrigue.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2023
It’s subtle but transformative to know what sugar feels like in your fingers at different stages of candying.
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2017
If left for a few weeks longer on the trees, they expand, and become what are termed "mother cloves," fit only for seed or for candying.
To candy it, do not add the syrup, but observe the directions given for candying fruit; some may be done each way.
From Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889 by Burroughs, Barkham
“Some people have a method of candying the roots, and thus prepared they are very pleasant, and may be eaten with good success against coughs and inward soreness.”
From The Cries of London Exhibiting Several of the Itinerant Traders of Antient and Modern Times by Smith, John Thomas
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.
