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candle
[ kan-dl ]
noun
- a long, usually slender piece of tallow or wax with an embedded wick that is burned to give light.
- something resembling a candle in appearance or use.
- Optics.
- (formerly) candela.
- Also called in·ter·na·tion·al can·dle [in, -ter-nash-, uh, -nl , kan, -dl, -nash-nl]. a unit of luminous intensity, defined as a fraction of the luminous intensity of a group of 45 carbon-filament lamps: used from 1909 to 1948 as the international standard.
- a unit of luminous intensity, equal to the luminous intensity of a wax candle of standard specifications: used prior to 1909 as the international standard. : c., c
verb (used with object)
- to examine (eggs) for freshness, fertility, etc., by holding them up to a bright light.
- to hold (a bottle of wine) in front of a lighted candle while decanting so as to detect sediment and prevent its being poured off with the wine.
candle
/ ˈkændəl /
noun
- a cylindrical piece of wax, tallow, or other fatty substance surrounding a wick, which is burned to produce light
- physics
- another name for candela
- burn the candle at both endsto exhaust oneself, esp by being up late and getting up early to work
- not hold a candle to informal.to be inferior or contemptible in comparison with
your dog doesn't hold a candle to mine
- not worth the candle informal.not worth the price or trouble entailed (esp in the phrase the game's not worth the candle )
verb
- tr to examine (eggs) for freshness or the likelihood of being hatched by viewing them against a bright light
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Derived Forms
- ˈcandler, noun
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Other Words From
- can·dler noun
- un·can·dled adjective
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of candle1
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Idioms and Phrases
- hold a candle to, to compare favorably with (usually used in the negative):
She's smart, but she can't hold a candle to her sister.
- worth the candle, worth the trouble or effort involved (usually used in the negative):
Trying to win them over to your viewpoint is not worth the candle.
- burn the / one's candle at both ends. burn 1( def 56 ).
More idioms and phrases containing candle
see burn the candle at both ends ; game is not worth the candle ; hold a candle to .Discover More
Example Sentences
Yeah, the “Giant man-puppy” that is Gronkowski won't hold a sexual candle to the blue-eyed dreamboat.
Unlike the Soviet Union at a certain period in history, the Russian economy does not hold a candle to that of the United States.
Alastair Sim had jowls like melting candle wax, a snarl like a cornered cat and eyes cold with contempt.
This candle may just be the perfect stocking stuffer or gift for a dear friend.
And she said, “No, you are on fire,” and my arm had caught on fire from a candle on this mantelpiece.
The faint candle-light glimmered on a ponderous gilded cornice, which had also sustained violence.
Groping to the chimney-place with the aid of his matches, Mr. Collingwood found the candle and lit it.
In a niche in the mud wall was a cheap print of the Madonna, one candle just smouldering out before it.
"I am not Lady Macbeth," said Isabel, with a tremor in her own voice, as she entered and blew out the candle.
You may burn a candle, said the Jew, putting one upon the table; and heres a book for you to read till they come to fetch you.
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Related Words
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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