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.

The new system lets voters cast as many votes as there are seats on the board, but allows them to stack their votes on a single candidate or spread them across multiple candidates.

From Salon • May 7, 2026

Perfuse’s lead drug candidate is an experimental treatment for glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy currently being tested in mid-stage clinical trials, Bayer said.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Xavier Becerra says he is the best candidate for California governor because of his long experience in government.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

"Modern AI often advances by scaling up computation," says Vinayak Vinayak, a doctoral candidate in MSE and co-first author of the study.

From Science Daily • May 6, 2026

He particularly didn't like it when the candidate was only interested in his own personal advancement or just wanted to get out of Germany.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

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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