candidate

/ˈkæn.dɪdət/

//ˈkæn.dɪdət// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"candidate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“candidate” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,193. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,193
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who seeks to be elected or appointed to a position or privilege.

Corpus desk

Index EN-candidate · candidate · English

candidate · rank #2,193 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,193
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH businesses

Nearest frequency peer: businesses (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “candidate”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “candidate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

candidate vs candida
78% similar
candidate vs candidacy
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for candidate
PropertyValue
Headwordcandidate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkæn.dɪdət/
Letters9
Frequency rank#2,193
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “candidate”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).candidatelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “businesses” (#2,192), “comfortable” (#2,194), “angry” (#2,191). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “candidate” is #2,193. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around candidate (IPA /ˈkæn.dɪdət/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,193 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for candidate, with forms such as "acndidate", "cadnidate", and "canddiate". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "candida", "candidacy", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 symb… The correct English form is candidate, spelled C-A-N-D-I-D-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who seeks to be elected or appointed to a position or privilege.
  2. 2
    A person who is thought likely or worthy to gain a position or privilege.
  3. 3
    A participant in an examination.
  4. 4
    Someone or something likely or suited to undergo or be chosen for a purpose.
  5. 5
    A student taking a degree who has finished the coursework but has other remaining requirements such as a dissertation.
  6. 6
    The recipient of certain academic degrees, now mainly awarded in Scandinavia.
  7. 7
    A gene which may play a role in a given disease.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how candidate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Smith announced he was the party's candidate for the next election.
  2. All candidates who miss the deadline or make a spelling mistake in their applications are automatically rejected.

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).

This word in other languages

candidato(Español)candidat(Français)Kandidat(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acndidate
  • cadnidate
  • canddiate
  • canddidate
  • candiadte
  • candidaet
  • candidatte
  • candiddate
  • candidtae
  • caniddate
  • canndidate
  • ccandidate
  • cnadidate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of candidate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

acndidate2cadnidate2canddiate2canddidate1candiadte2candidaet2candidatte1candiddate1
Edit distance from "candidate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "candidate"?
"candidate" is spelled C-A-N-D-I-D-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkæn.dɪdət/.
What does "candidate" mean?
As a noun, "candidate" means: A person who seeks to be elected or appointed to a position or privilege.
What words are commonly confused with "candidate"?
"candidate" is commonly confused with "candida", "candidacy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "candidate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "candidate" is /ˈkæn.dɪdət/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "candidate"?
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... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "candidate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

elections#2,198emotional#2,199interests#2,208relations#2,174

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

businesses13 variantsplatform13 variantsScotland13 variantsconflict13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list