Definition of "candidate" in English

noun

1. A person who seeks to be elected or appointed to a position or privilege.

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

2. (figurative) A person who is thought likely or worthy to gain a position or privilege.

3. A participant in an examination.

   • Candidates must remain silent for the entirety of the exam.

4. Someone or something likely or suited to undergo or be chosen for a purpose.

   • After being presented with various suitors, she decided none of the candidates were the kind of man she was looking for.

5. (education) A student taking a degree who has finished the coursework but has other remaining requirements such as a dissertation.

   • a Ph.D. candidate

6. (education) The recipient of certain academic degrees, now mainly awarded in Scandinavia.

7. (genetics) A gene which may play a role in a given disease.

verb

1. To stand as a candidate for an office, typically for a religious one.

2. (nonstandard, chiefly jargon and non-native speakers' English) To make or name (something) as a candidate (to be chosen or deemed suitable for a purpose).

verb

1. (obsolete, rare, transitive, figurative) To make white; to whitewash.