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.

Her mother, Nadia Milleron, a niece of consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, is running for Congress as an independent.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

Diana, the Kalshi spokeswoman, acknowledged that mention markets face long shot bias but said mention markets weren’t representative of the platform’s overall pricing and weren’t a good candidate for this type of pricing analysis.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

You’re a first-time candidate taking on an entrenched political establishment.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

After every previous Holyrood election, the leader of the largest group of MSPs has become first minister but there is no rule that prevents the election of another candidate if they can command greater support.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

Pa wasn’t too pleased that his candidate, Hubert Humphrey, had lost the election.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

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

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!