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.

“We have to do this because unfortunately we can’t just rely on what a candidate says anymore,” St. Dic says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 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

Neither candidate supports the controversial Billionaire’s Tax Act.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

Both CNN and NBC News projected Hilton, a former British political strategist and Fox News commentator, had enough votes to maintain his lead from third-place candidate Tom Steyer, a billionaire hedge manager.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

If we have something they didn’t, then experiment would seem a good candidate.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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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