can|died /kæ ndid/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Food such as candied fruit has been covered with sugar or has been cooked in sugar syrup. □ …candied orange peel.
can|dle /kæ nd ə l/ (candles )
1 N‑COUNT A candle is a stick of hard wax with a piece of string called a wick through the middle. You light the wick in order to give a steady flame that provides light. □ The bedroom was lit by a single candle.
2 PHRASE If you burn the candle at both ends , you try to do too many things in too short a period of time so that you have to stay up very late at night and get up very early in the morning to get them done.
candle|light /kæ nd ə lla I t/ N‑UNCOUNT Candlelight is the light that a candle produces. □ They dined by candlelight.
candle|lit /kæ nd ə ll I t/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A candlelit room or table is lit by the light of candles. □ …a candlelit dinner for two.
candle|stick /kæ nd ə lst I k/ (candlesticks ) N‑COUNT A candlestick is a narrow object with a hole at the top which holds a candle.
ca n-do ADJ [ADJ n] If you say that someone has a can-do attitude, you approve of them because they are confident and willing to deal with problems or new tasks, rather than complaining or giving up. [INFORMAL , APPROVAL ] □ He is known for his optimistic can-do attitude.
can|dour /kæ ndə r / in AM, use candor N‑UNCOUNT Candour is the quality of speaking honestly and openly about things. □ …a brash, forceful man, noted both for his candour and his quick temper.
can|dy /kæ ndi/ (candies ) N‑VAR Candy is sweet foods such as toffees or chocolate. [AM ] □ …a piece of candy. □ …a large box of candies. in BRIT, usually use sweets
ca n|dy bar (candy bars ) N‑COUNT A candy bar is a long, thin, sweet food, usually covered in chocolate. [AM ]
candy|floss /kæ ndiflɒs, [AM ] -flɔːs/ also candy-floss
1 N‑UNCOUNT Candyfloss is a large pink or white mass of sugar threads that is eaten from a stick. It is sold at fairs or other outdoor events. [BRIT ] in AM, use cotton candy 2 N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] If you think something such as a CD or film has no real value, you can say that it is candyfloss . [BRIT , DISAPPROVAL ] □ She took to writing candyfloss romances.
cane /ke I n/ (canes )
1 N‑VAR [oft N n] Cane is used to refer to the long, hollow, hard stems of plants such as bamboo. Strips of cane are often used to make furniture, and some types of cane can be crushed and processed to make sugar. □ …cane furniture. □ …cane sugar. □ Bamboo produces an annual crop of cane. □ Dig out and burn infected canes.
2 N‑COUNT A cane is a long thin stick with a curved or round top which you can use to support yourself when you are walking, or which in the past was fashionable to carry with you.
3 N‑COUNT A cane is a long, thin, flexible stick which in the past was used to hit people, especially children at school, as a punishment. □ Until the 1980s, some criminals were still flogged with a rattan cane as a punishment. ● N‑SING The cane is used to refer to the punishment of being hit with a cane.
4 → see also sugar cane
ca|nine /ke I na I n/ ADJ [ADJ n] Canine means relating to dogs. □ …research into canine diseases.
can|is|ter /kæ n I stə r / (canisters )
1 N‑COUNT [usu n N ] A canister is a strong metal container. It is used to hold gases or chemical substances. □ Riot police hurled tear gas canisters and smoke bombs into the crowd. □ [+ of ] …canisters of commercial fuel.
2 N‑COUNT A canister is a metal, plastic, or china container with a lid. It is used for storing food such as sugar and flour.
3 N‑COUNT A canister is a flat round container. It is usually made of metal and is used to store photographic film.
can|ker /kæ ŋkə r / (cankers )
1 N‑COUNT A canker is something evil that spreads and affects things or people. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] …the canker of jealousy.
2 N‑VAR Canker is a disease which affects the wood of shrubs and trees, making the outer layer come away to expose the inside of the stem. □ In gardens, cankers are most prominent on apple and pear trees.
can|na|bis /kæ nəb I s/ N‑UNCOUNT Cannabis is the hemp plant when it is used as a drug.
canned /kæ nd/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Canned music, laughter, or applause on a television or radio programme has been recorded beforehand and is added to the programme to make it sound as if there is a live audience.
2 → see also can ➋
can|nel|lo|ni /kæ nəloʊ ni/ N‑UNCOUNT Cannelloni is large tube-shaped pieces of pasta that contain a filling of meat, cheese, or vegetables.
can|nery /kæ nəri/ (canneries ) N‑COUNT A cannery is a factory where food is canned.
can|ni|bal /kæ n I b ə l/ (cannibals ) N‑COUNT Cannibals are people who eat the flesh of other human beings. □ …a tropical island inhabited by cannibals.
can|ni|bal|ism /kæ n I bəl I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT If a group of people practise cannibalism , they eat the flesh of other people.
can|ni|bal|is|tic /kæ n I bəl I st I k/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Cannibalistic people and practices are connected with cannibalism. □ …lurid cannibalistic feasts.
can|ni|bal|ize /kæ n I bəla I z/ (cannibalizes , cannibalizing , cannibalized ) in BRIT, also use cannibalise 1 VERB If you cannibalize something, you take it to pieces and use it to make something else. □ [V n] They cannibalized damaged planes for the parts.