Caramel
adj, name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A smooth, chewy, sticky confection made by heating sugar and other ingredients until the sugars polymerize and become sticky. uncountable
"The usual technique for making caramel is to mix table sugar with some water, then heat until the water has boiled off and the molten sugar colors."
- 2 a medium to dark tan color wordnet
- 3 A (sometimes hardened) piece of this confection. countable
"Caramel has a rich, complex flavor and consistency, viscous and sticky and creamy all at once, that works well with most sweets and fruits, with coffee and chocolate, and even with salt: the prized caramels of Brittany are made with a notable dose of sea salt."
- 4 burnt sugar; used to color and flavor food wordnet
- 5 A yellow-brown color, like that of caramel. countable, uncountable
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- 6 firm chewy candy made from caramelized sugar and butter and milk wordnet
- 1 To caramelize. dated, transitive
"To turn out, place the dish over the mould, and invert both together, when, if the caramelling has been complete, the pudding should slip out without any difficulty at all."
- 1 Of a yellow-brown color. not-comparable
"Every time I saw this caramel cutie, she was working on a new proposal or business plan or flyer to promote herself and her event coordinating business."
- 1 having the color of caramel; of a moderate yellow-brown wordnet
- 1 A surname from Occitan.
Example
More examples"I don't like ice cream with caramel on it."
Etymology
Borrowed from French caramel, from Spanish caramelo, from Portuguese caramelo, dissimilated from Late Latin calamellus, diminutive of calamus (“reed”) (and a doublet of chalumeau and shawm). Alternatively from Medieval Latin cannamellis, which is a compound of canna + mellis.
Borrowed from French Caramel.
Related phrases
More for "caramel"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.