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.

They’ve embraced a new flavor of candidate, like Mr. Platner and Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed, and positioned those endorsements as a rejection of the “establishment.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

None said anyone approached them offering money to vote for a specific candidate.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026

Instead, the party's candidate, Kenyon, is focusing on hyper-local issues such as opposing new housing developments on green-belt land, pitching himself as a "normal" local lad.

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

The most obvious candidate is the VanEck Semiconductor Exchange-Traded Fund, home to data center chip makers seeing explosive growth in their AI offerings.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

He reiterated his claim, simultaneously sincere and misleading, that he had been embarrassed to learn that he had become a candidate for the presidency.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

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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