candle
can·dle/ˈkæn.dəl/noun, verb
candle is spelled C-A-N-D-L-E, 2 syllables: can·dle. The wrong spelling people search most is candel: about 620 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 26 of all searches for the word. Candle is a noun meaning “A light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin”. The plural of candle is candles.
How many letters and syllables are in candle?
| Letters | 6: C-A-N-D-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: can·dle |
| In writing | 7.6 times per million words; the 8,542nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, candel, about 620 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell candle?
Candle is spelled C-A-N-D-L-E. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 26 of the searches for candle in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is candle?
Candle appears 7.6 times per million words in written English, the 8,542nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce candle?
- /ˈkæn.dəl/
- [ˈcʰæn.dl̩]
- /ˈkeə̯n.dəl/
Candle has 2 syllables, split can·dle in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Aquild-candle.wav, En-us-candle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of candle
- candles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- candling participle, present
- candled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does candle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A light source consisting of a wick embedded in a solid, flammable substance such as wax, tallow, or paraffin.
light a candle
- 2
The protruding, removable portion of a filter, particularly a water filter.
- 3
obsoleteA unit of luminous intensity, now replaced by the SI unit candela.
- 4
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.
- 5
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.
verb
- 1
To observe the growth of an embryo inside (an egg), using a bright light source.
- 2
To dry (greenware) prior to the firing cycle, setting the kiln at 200° Celsius until all water is removed from the greenware.
- 3
To check (an item, such as an envelope) by holding it between a light source and the eye.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Candle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a light source:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bougie, chandelle |
| German | Kerze |
| Portuguese | vela |
| Spanish | vela, candela, cirio, espelma, veladora (Mesoamerica), blandón |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does candle come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).