votive candle

noun

plural votive candles

: a short thick candle used especially as a prayer offering or for decoration

Male and female patrons crowd together at small tables where flames wobble on colored votive candles.

—Rachel Hickerson

… in some parts of the church you still bake. A lot of churches have gotten rid of votive candles because of the soot and the heat.

—Rev. John Kozar, quoted in The Pittsburgh (PA) Press

called also votive

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Fill a tray with moss and votive candles. —Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Mar. 2023

Bois de Balincourt Gift Set Consider this Maison Louis Marie sandalwood-scented kit (a perfume oil, eau de parfum, and votive candle) the most intoxicating gift of all. —Zoe Ruffner, Vogue, 17 Dec. 2020

This mini votive candle makes the cutest stocking stuffer. —Lauren Taylor, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Dec. 2022

The bundle includes a milk bath, body scrub, and body oil, but the best part is the palo santo votive candle to engage your senses even more. —Nerisha Penrose, ELLE, 2 Dec. 2022

Texas state Representative Trey Martinez Fischer, in front of the votive candle mosaic by San Antonio artist Jesse Treviño at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. —Samantha J. Gross, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Oct. 2022

Fill each cup with a votive candle, pinecone, sprigs of hypericum berries, or evergreens. —Megan Boettcher, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Aug. 2022

Paint the pumpkin stems gold to connect them to the garland, then fill in with golden votive candle holders. —Megan Boettcher, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Aug. 2022

We won’t be ignored again — or else. :: For years after her husband’s death, Rosa Bañuelos Ortiz lit a votive candle, putting flowers and a photo of him beside it every April 29. —Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2022

See More

Word History

First Known Use

1608, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

votive candle

noun

1

: a candle lit in devotion or gratitude

2

: a small squat candle

called also votive