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.

Abigail Dow, an applied microeconomist and PhD candidate in economics at Boston University, underscored the correlation between childcare costs and people’s decisions to have children in a recent research paper.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2026

While no gubernatorial candidate reached the necessary level of support to earn the endorsement at the February gathering, Swalwell had the largest share with 24%.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

But there was no obvious candidate to replace him and many in the party decided to wait until local elections in May to see how poorly Labour fares.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The SNP has selected Hannah Mary Goodlad - their only constituency candidate who doesn't have a political background of some sort.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

Or casting a vote for the first female presidential candidate of a major party.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

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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