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

The cake was two-tiers made up of a chai chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and caramel on bottom and a vanilla butter cake with banana mascarpone cream on top. —Alexandra Schonfeld, People.com, 3 Feb. 2025

Flavors include sweet potato pie, banana pudding and cognac caramel. —Alice Gibbs, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025

Additionally, macchiatos will be topped with more intricate caramel designs, and both loyalty members and non-members will receive free refills on iced and hot coffee. —Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 27 Jan. 2025

Make the recipe Southern-Style Caramel Cake Photograph by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Marc Williams With a buttery, vanilla-scented cake and a rich caramel frosting, this is the perfect cake for anyone with a serious sweet tooth. —Olivia Quintana, Bon Appétit, 26 Jan. 2025

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