chocolate

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noun choc·o·late \ ˈchä-k(ə-)lət , ˈchȯ- \

Definition of chocolate

1 :a beverage made by mixing chocolate with water or milk

The boy stirred the chocolate before drinking it.

2 :a food prepared from ground roasted cacao beans

The cake recipe calls for four squares of chocolate.

3 :a small candy with a center (such as a fondant) and a chocolate coating

gave her a box of chocolates

4 :a brownish gray

The bird's plumage was a shade of chocolate.

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chocolate

adjective

See chocolate defined for English-language learners

See chocolate defined for kids

Examples of chocolate in a Sentence

The cake recipe calls for four squares of chocolate.
She gave me a box of chocolates for my birthday.

Recent Examples of chocolate from the Web

Kyle Green kgreen@idahostatesman.com Chris Preston and Kristi Echols-Preston opened the Chocolat Bar in 2004 and have been handcrafting fine chocolates and other confections since.

— hailey ross, idahostatesman, "Sample some of Boise’s good eats, sips, stories with ‘The Ambassador of Idaho.’," 21 Aug. 2017
The kids sell popcorn, coffee, poinsettias, chocolate and tickets to pancake breakfasts.

— donna vickroy, Daily Southtown, "The little program that could," 11 Aug. 2017
Place the white chocolate cheesecake batter in a bowl.

— nancy miller, The Courier-Journal, "White chocolate raspberry cheesecake recipe | Corbett's," 1 Aug. 2017
Hank the chocolate Lab and his fuzzy purple hippo found a new home together.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "The harrowing, heartwarming high jinks of Hank the shelter dog and his purple hippo," 20 July 2017
As for the chocolate butter, with the recipe provided here, there’s one word.

— lee svitak dean, The Seattle Times, "Dress up mealtime with DIY-flavored butters," 19 July 2017
To prep her client for underlights, Devine dyed the perimeter of her hair with dark chocolate dye and bleached the middle section.

— devon abelman, Allure, "This Rainbow Hair Look Combines Every Instagram Hair Color Trend," 6 July 2017
M comes home to find a pie—vegan chocolate—sitting on her counter, left there by a neighbor.

— emma stefansky, HWD, "A Ghost Story: How Sheet-Covered Casey Affleck Became Summer’s Most Haunting Hero," 6 July 2017
The sweet treat is made with Scooped by MooTime vanilla ice cream and a cakey chocolate wafer.

— carolina gusman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "National Ice Cream Month: Every day's a sundae in July," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chocolate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of chocolate

Spanish, from Nahuatl chocolātl, proibn alteration of eastern Nahuatl dialect chikolātl, from chikolli hook (probably used to refer to the beater used to mix chocolate with water) + ātl water, liquid

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1604

See Words from the same year

Other Food Terms

Reuben, calamari, chuck, curry, edamame, foie gras, hummus, leaven, nonpareil, peel

CHOCOLATE Defined for English Language Learners

chocolate

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noun

Definition of chocolate for English Language Learners

: a food that is made from cacao beans and that is eaten as candy or used as a flavoring ingredient in other sweet foods
: a candy made or covered with chocolate
: a dark brown color

CHOCOLATE Defined for Kids

chocolate

play

noun choc·o·late \ ˈchä-kə-lət , ˈchä-klət , ˈchȯ- \

Definition of chocolate for Students

1 :a food prepared from ground roasted cacao beans

2 :a candy made or coated with chocolate

3 :a beverage of chocolate in water or milk

… he ordered … a pot of coffee and another of chocolate.
—Esther Forbes, Johnny Tremain

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chocolate

adjective

chocolate ice cream

History for chocolate

The word chocolate, like chili and tomato, comes from an American Indian language called Nahuatl, which was spoken in central Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest. The Nahuatl word chocolātl looks like a compound, but its parts are not known for certain, and this has led to much discussion about its origin. One interesting idea is that the real source is chicolātl, a Nahuatl dialect word, made from chicolli, “hook”—here referring to the small hooked stick used to beat chocolate and hot water to a froth—and ātl, “liquid, water.”