Short answer: A confection is a sweet food, usually made with sugar, such as a sweet, a piece of chocolate or a sugar-coated treat. "Confections" is simply the plural. The word is more formal than everyday shop talk, where "sweets" or "chocolate" is the usual term.
Where the word comes from
"Confection" comes through Old French from the Latin confectio, from conficere, meaning "put together". The root parts are con- ("together") and facere ("make"). Early English uses were broad and could mean any mixed preparation, including medicines. The sense of a sweet or light pastry became the dominant one from the 1500s onwards.
Confection and confectionery
The two words are related but not identical. Wikipedia describes confectionery as "the art of making confections, or sweet foods", and describes confections as items rich in sugar and carbohydrates. In practice, a confection is one sweet item, while confectionery is the wider category or trade. Our guide to what confectionery means covers that category in full, so this article focuses on the word itself.
What the word can cover
Depending on context, a confection can be:
- Hard sugar work, such as hard candy, lollipops and taffy.
- Chocolate, whether a bar, a moulded piece or a filled chocolate.
- Sugar-coated nuts or fruit, where a centre is coated in layers of sugar or chocolate.
- Cakes and pastries, in the older, broader dictionary sense of a sweet food made by skilled preparation.
Frozen desserts are a grey area. Some food-science writing calls frozen sweet treats "frozen confections", but UK classification places ice cream in its own frozen desserts category, separate from sugar and chocolate confectionery.
UK and US usage
The word "confection" is understood in both countries, but everyday vocabulary differs. In the UK, "sweets" is the common word for sugar-based items, and a chocolate-coated bar is usually a "chocolate bar". In the US, "candy" is the general term, and the same bar would more likely be called a "candy bar". Both sides use "confectionery" for the wider trade category.
Confection vs candy
Candy is the narrower everyday word. In the US sense it usually means sugar-based sweets such as hard candy, gummies and lollipops. "Confection" is broader. It includes candy, chocolate and other sweet prepared foods. Every candy is a confection, but not every confection is candy.
Shop the range
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Frequently asked questions
What is a confection?
A confection is a sweet food, usually made with sugar, such as a sweet, a chocolate or a sugar-coated treat. The word can also mean a cake or pastry.
Is a confection the same as candy?
Not exactly. Candy is the narrower everyday term for sugar-based sweets. A confection is broader and can include chocolate and baked goods. Every candy is a confection, but not every confection is candy.
What is the plural of confection?
The plural is "confections".