caramel

noun

car·​a·​mel ˈkär-məl  ˈker-ə-məl 

ˈka-rə-, 

-ˌmel

1

: a usually firm to brittle, golden-brown to dark brown substance that has a sweet, nutty, buttery, or bitter flavor, is obtained by heating sugar at high temperature, and used especially as a coloring and flavoring agent

Caramel is an ingredient in many candies.

2

: a firm, chewy, usually caramel-flavored candy made with sugar, cream, corn syrup, and butter

a bag of caramels

Examples of caramel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In her suitcase, rich caramel, chocolate brown, and burgundy velour get broken up by black and white staples and small glints of silver. — Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 6 Nov. 2026

And Brown Sugar Bakery bakes the iconic cupcakes, including the caramel and the Obama with red velvet, chocolate and yellow cake layers, vanilla cream cheese frosting, finished in chocolate and pecans. — Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026

The golden-brown tips mimic the rich caramel swirling into your iced coffee, while the luminous cat-eye finish gives them an almost liquid-like effect. — Amanda Le, InStyle, 16 Oct. 2026

Housemade syrup flavors include salted Hugo Grey vanilla, Provis caramel, floral hibiscus rose and dekopon orange/thyme. — Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, from Spanish caramelo, from Portuguese, icicle, caramel, from Late Latin calamellus small reed — more at shawm

First Known Use

1702, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing caramel

• crème caramel

Kids Definition

caramel

noun

car·​a·​mel ˈkär-məl  ˈkar-ə-məl 

-ˌmel

1

: burnt sugar used for coloring and flavoring

2

: a firm chewy candy

Medical Definition

caramel

noun

car·​a·​mel ˈkar-ə-məl  -ˌmel; ˈkär-məl 

: an amorphous brittle brown and somewhat bitter substance obtained by heating sugar and used as a coloring and flavoring agent