candle

Syllables: can·dle/ˈkæn.dəl/

candle noun: a light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin.

Image: Arivumathi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

candle (plural candles)

A light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin.
- light a candle
- blow out the candles on the birthday cake
The protruding, removable portion of a filter, particularly a water filter.
(obsolete) A unit of luminous intensity, now replaced by the SI unit candela.
A fast-growing, light-colored, upward-growing shoot on a pine tree in the spring. As growth slows in summer, the shoot darkens and is no longer conspicuous.
(idiomatic, Anglicanism) Indicates how high or low church something is by height on the candle.
- That vicar used to be an evangelical, but she's crept up the candle in recent years.
- That’s why self-consciously Anglo-catholic churches which are a mile high up the paschal candle can do reasonably well in the current climate.2016 May 2, Kelvin Holdsworth, “The Seven Actual Marks of Mission”, in Thurible.net

Verb

candle (third-person singular simple present candles, present participle candling, simple past and past participle candled)

(transitive) To observe the growth of an embryo inside (an egg), using a bright light source.
(transitive, pottery) To dry (greenware) prior to the firing cycle, setting the kiln at 200° Celsius until all water is removed from the greenware.
(transitive) To check (an item, such as an envelope) by holding it between a light source and the eye.

candle meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

candle in Hindi

a light source: मोमबत्ती mombattī, शमा śamā

candle in Tamil

a light source: மெழுகுவர்த்தி meḻukuvartti, மெழுகுதிரி meḻukutiri

candle in Urdu

a light source: موم بَتّی mom battī, شَمْع śam'

More languagesFewer languages

candle in Bengali: মোমবাতি mōmbati, শামা śama
candle in Telugu: కొవ్వొత్తి kovvotti
candle in Malayalam: മെഴുകുതിരി meḻukutiri
candle in Kannada: ಮೋಂಬತ್ತಿ mōmbatti
candle in Punjabi: ਮੋਮਬੱਤੀ mombattī
candle in Gujarati: મીણબત્તી mīṇbattī
candle in Odia: ବତି bati
candle in Sanskrit: मधुजवर्ती madhujavartī
candle in Sinhala: ඉටිපන්දම iṭipandama, විලක්කුව wilakkuwa
candle in Pashto: شمعه šam'a
candle in Tagalog: kandila, sasang
candle in Arabic: شَمْعَة šamʕa, قِنْدِيل qindīl
candle in Malay: lilin
candle in Indonesian: lilin
candle in Thai: เทียน tiian
candle in Vietnamese: nến, đèn cầy
candle in Myanmar: ဖယောင်းတိုင် hpa.yaung:tuing
Dhivehi: އުއްބައްތި ubbatti

Examples of candle in a sentence

snuff out the candle
For those towards the top of the candle, receiving holy communion is not the same as a celebration of the mass, and mailing the sacred host demonstrates a serious lack of reverence for the sacrament.2020 December 18, Robert Paterson, “Consecrated bread should not be posted to communicants”, in Church Times:
Clergy higher up the candle had different ideas.2022 May 27, Philip Goff, “Platinum Jubilee: The way we wore”, in Church Times:

All 40 example sentences with candle

Forms of candle

Noun
plural	candles
Verb
third-person singular present	candles
present participle	candling
past participle	candled
past	candled

Plural of candle: candles

Origin of candle

From Middle English candel, from Old English candel (“candle”), borrowed from Latin candēla (“candle”), from Latin candeō (“be white, bright, shining”, verb); see candid. Doublet of candela and chandelle.

Words formed from candle

Advent candle
better to light a candle than to curse the darkness
…a single candle…
…one candle…
…one small candle…
burn one's candle at both ends
…the candle…
bush candle
candle auction
candlebark
candleberry
candlebomb
candle bush
candle chart
candle coal
candle dance
candle-end
candlefish
candleflame
candleglow
candle holder
candleholder
candle in the wind
candleless
candle light
candlelight
candle-light
candlelighted
candlelighter
candlelighting
candlelight vigil
candlelike
candlelit
candle magick
candlemaker
candlemaking
Candlemas
candlenut
candlepin
candle power
candlepower
candler
candle salad
candle-shade
candleshine
candle snuffer
candlestand
candlestick
candlestub
candle-stub
candle tree
candlewaster
candle-waster
candle-wasting
candle wax
candlewax
candlewick
candle-wick
candle-wood
candlewood

Phrases with candle

63 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with candle

8 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about candle

What does candle mean?: Candle means a light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin.
What is candle in Hindi?: Candle in Hindi is मोमबत्ती (mombattī), शमा (śamā). See Candle meaning in Hindi.
How do you use candle in a sentence?: snuff out the candle
What part of speech is candle?: Candle can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce candle?: Candle is pronounced /ˈkæn.dəl/.
What is the plural of candle?: The plural of candle is candles.

Words near candle in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: candle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-candle.ogg.

Cite this entry: “candle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/candle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.