Candy vs. Sweets — What's the Difference?

Hard candy.

Cake.

Chocolate candy.

Confectionery sweets.

Candy bar.

Pastry.

Gummy candy.

Chocolate.

Chewy candy.

Ice cream.

Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called sugar confectionery, encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum, and sugar candy.

Having the taste of sugar or a substance containing or resembling sugar, as honey or saccharin.

A rich sweet confection made with sugar and often flavored or combined with fruits or nuts.

Containing or derived from sugar.

A piece of such a confection.

Retaining some natural sugar; not dry

(Slang) An illicit drug, especially one, such as cocaine, that has a sugary appearance or a drug in pill form, such as MDMA.

Pleasing to the senses; agreeable

To cook, preserve, saturate, or coat with sugar or syrup

Pleasing to the mind or feelings; gratifying

Edible, sweet-tasting confectionery containing sugar, or sometimes artificial sweeteners, and often flavored with fruit, chocolate, nuts, herbs and spices, or artificial flavors.

Having a pleasing disposition; lovable

A piece of confectionery of this kind.

Kind; gracious

Crack cocaine.

Fragrant; perfumed

(uncountable) An accessory (bracelet, etc.) made from pony beads, associated with the rave scene.

Not saline or salted

(obsolete) A unit of mass used in southern India, equal to twenty maunds, roughly equal to 500 pounds avoirdupois but varying locally.

Not spoiled, sour, or decaying; fresh

(cooking) To cook in, or coat with, sugar syrup.

Free of acid or acidity

(intransitive) To have sugar crystals form in or on.

Low in sulfur content

(intransitive) To be formed into candy; to solidify in a candylike form or mass.

(Music) Of, relating to, or being a form of jazz characterized by adherence to a melodic line and to a time signature.

To conserve or boil in sugar; as, to candy fruits; to candy ginger.

Remarkable; outstanding.

To make sugar crystals of or in; to form into a mass resembling candy; as, to candy sirup.

Used as an intensive

To incrust with sugar or with candy, or with that which resembles sugar or candy.

In a sweet manner; sweetly.

To have sugar crystals form in or on; as, fruits preserved in sugar candy after a time.

Sweet taste or quality; sweetness.

To be formed into candy; to solidify in a candylike form or mass.

Something sweet to the taste.

Any sweet, more or less solid article of confectionery, especially those prepared in small bite-sized pieces or small bars, having a wide variety of shapes, consistencies, and flavors, and manufactured in a variety of ways. It is often flavored or colored, or covered with chocolate, and sometimes contains fruit, nuts, etc.; it is often made by boiling sugar or molasses to the desired consistency, and than crystallizing, molding, or working in the required shape. Other types may consist primarily of chocolate or a sweetened gelatin. The term may be applied to a single piece of such confection or to the substance of which it is composed.

Foods, such as candy, pastries, puddings, or preserves, that are high in sugar content.

Cocaine.

(Informal) Sweet potatoes

A weight, at Madras 500 pounds, at Bombay 560 pounds.

A sweet dish, such as pudding, served as dessert.

A rich sweet made of flavored sugar and often combined with fruit or nuts

A sweetmeat or confection.

Coat with something sweet, such as a hard sugar glaze

A dear or beloved person.

Something pleasing to the mind or feelings.

Plural of sweet

Confectionery, candy.

(slang) drugs, amphetamine

Flowers, sweet-scented.

A term of endearment; sweetheart.

Yes, in British English, sweets can include what Americans refer to as candy.

Popular types include chocolate bars, gummy candies, hard candies, and chewy candies.

While the term candy is understood in the UK, sweets is more commonly used to refer to similar items.

In British English, sweets can refer to sugary items as well as other dessert types, not exclusively sugar-based.

Sweets are popular during Christmas, Easter, and celebrations like birthdays and weddings.

Sweets in the UK are enjoyed as part of a dessert course, as a snack, or during tea time.

Chocolates can be considered both candy and sweets, depending on the context and regional usage.

Traditional sweets include items like fruit cakes, scones, and mince pies, in addition to candies like licorice and sherbet lemons.

Candy primarily refers to sugar-based confections in American English, while sweets is a broader term in British English that includes all dessert items.

They can be interchangeable in some contexts, but their usage largely depends on regional language differences.

They're often packaged in bright, appealing wrappers, targeting a younger audience.

In British English, ice cream can be categorized under sweets.

Candies are popular during Halloween, Easter, and as birthday treats.

Yes, both categories offer sugar-free options catering to health-conscious consumers.

Yes, both the candy industry in the U.S. and the sweets industry in the UK are significant, with a strong emphasis on tradition and innovation.