candidate

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈkæn.dɪ.deɪt/ UK /ˈkæn.dɪdət/ See IPA manual

Freq #4432

Meanings

1

noun
A person who is trying to be elected or chosen for a job or position.

Smith announced that he was the party's candidate for the next election.
2

noun
A person or thing that is suitable for or likely to be chosen for something.

This old building is a strong candidate for renovation.
3

noun
A person taking an exam or test.

Candidates must remain silent for the whole of the exam.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who is trying to... campaigner prospect

Word family

Forms candidates

Derived forms candidacycandidateshipcandidatureexcandidateklandidatemulticandidatenoncandidateprecandidate

Related forms candela candelabrum candid candlecandlepowercandlestick chandler chandlery

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Etymology

From Latin candidātus (“a person who is standing for public office”, noun), from candidus (“dazzling white, shining, clear”) + -ātus, -āta, -ātum (participial adjective-forming suffix), in reference to Roman candidates wearing bleached white togas as a symbol of purity at a public forum. By surface analysis, candid + -ate (noun-forming suffix).

*(s)kend- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# candidate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkæn.dɪ.deɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkæn.dɪdət/
**Frequency rank:** 4432

## Meanings
1. A person who is trying to be elected or chosen for a job or position.
2. A person or thing that is suitable for or likely to be chosen for something.
3. A person taking an exam or test.

## Examples
- Smith announced that he was the party's candidate for the next election.
- This old building is a strong candidate for renovation.
- Candidates must remain silent for the whole of the exam.

## Derived Forms
- candidacy
- candidateship
- candidature
- excandidate
- klandidate
- multicandidate
- noncandidate
- precandidate

## Related Forms
- candela
- candelabrum
- candid
- candle
- candlepower
- candlestick
- chandler
- chandlery

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *(s)kend-

## Etymology
From Latin candidātus (“a person who is standing for public office”, noun), from candidus (“dazzling white, shining, clear”) + -ātus, -āta, -ātum (participial adjective-forming suffix), in reference to Roman candidates wearing bleached white togas as a symbol of purity at a public forum. By surface analysis, candid + -ate (noun-forming suffix).

## AI Etymology
Candidate comes from Latin candidātus (“a person who is standing for public office”, noun), from candidus (“dazzling white, shining, clear”) + -ātus, -āta, -ātum (participial adjective-forming suffix), in reference to Roman candidates wearing bleached white togas as a symbol of purity at a public forum. By surface analysis, candid + -ate (noun-forming suffix).

## Topics
- People & Society

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