Definitions

candidate

[kan-di-deyt, -dit, kan-di-deyt] / ˈkæn dɪˌdeɪt, -dɪt, ˈkæn dɪˌdeɪt /

NOUN

person desiring political office, job

Synonyms

STRONGEST

applicant aspirant bidder competitor contender contestant nominee successor

STRONG

claimant entrant hopeful petitioner possibility pothunter runner seeker stumper suitor write-in

WEAK

dark horse favorite son handshaker job-hunter office seeker possible choice solicitant whistle-stopper

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.

Candidate selections at constituency level have to be ratified by Burrows, but the BBC has been told he will not interfere.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

The study, "JWST Reveals a Candidate Jellyfish Galaxy at z=1.156," was published in The Astrophysical Journal.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

Candidate quality is central to the election’s outcome.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

Sinclair returned home to Pasadena to write his campaign memoir, which he mordantly entitled “I, Candidate for Governor — And How I Got Licked.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2025

“Then the FBI caught up with him and brought him in. He got big connections and got into Officers Candidate School.”

From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers

Vocabulary lists containing candidate

Election Lingo

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Electoral Elocution: The Verbiage of Voting

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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 2

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