candidate
noun
- prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position
- academic degree in various countries
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈkæn.dɪdət/ / /ˈkæn.dɪ.deɪt/ / /ˈkandɪdət/ / /ˈkandɪdɛjt/
noun
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).
- 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.”
- A person who is thought likely or worthy to gain a position or privilege.
- A participant in an examination.
“Candidates must remain silent for the entirety of the exam.”
- 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.”
“In the past two years, NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has located nearly 3,000 exoplanet candidates ranging from sub-Earth-sized minions to gas giants that dwarf our own Jupiter.”
- A student taking a degree who has finished the coursework but has other remaining requirements such as a dissertation.
“a Ph.D. candidate”
- The recipient of certain academic degrees, now mainly awarded in Scandinavia.
- A gene which may play a role in a given disease.
verb
Etymology: From Latin candidātus (“dressed in white”, adjective); see Etymology 1 for further derivations. By surface analysis, candid + -ate (verb-forming suffix).
- To make white; to whitewash.