Definitions

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.

Latinos make up about 37% of the electorate in Los Angeles, but polls conducted before the election suggested no single candidate had a lock on their votes.

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

Given all the doubts around Adobe, it’s perhaps surprising that the company will likely go with an internal candidate to replace outgoing CEO Shantanu Narayen.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

Dasch thought Haupt was a good candidate for the mission.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Vocabulary lists containing candidate

Election Lingo

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

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!