Meaning & use
candy stripe nurse
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableold-fashionedinformal
A student nurse, especially one in the past who wore a uniform with thin colored stripes.
Grammar: Countable: say a candy stripe nurse or candy stripe nurses.
Patterns
- a candy stripe nurse
- work as a candy stripe nurse
In old hospital photographs, the candy stripe nurses stand beside the doctors in white coats.
She trained as a candy stripe nurse in the 1950s before becoming a midwife.
The novel describes a candy stripe nurse who learns on the wards during wartime.
nouncountableold-fashionedregional
The striped uniform itself, worn by nursing students in the past.
Grammar: Usually singular and used with the: the candy stripe nurse was the uniform, not a person.
Patterns
- wear the candy stripe nurse
- in a candy stripe nurse
New students were given the candy stripe nurse on their first day at the school.
The museum displays a candy stripe nurse from a hospital that closed long ago.
Word forms
| plural | candy stripe nurses |
|---|
Common combinations
- a candy stripe nurse uniform
- The old photograph shows a candy stripe nurse uniform hanging in the dormitory.
- train as a candy stripe nurse
- He trained as a candy stripe nurse before the hospital changed its rules.
- the candy stripe nurse tradition
- Older nurses still talk about the candy stripe nurse tradition with affection.
- a former candy stripe nurse
- A former candy stripe nurse came back to open the new teaching wing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- student nurse
- This is the modern, neutral term and fits best in current writing; candy stripe nurse sounds dated.
- nursing student
- Common in American English and emphasizes study; candy stripe nurse emphasizes the old uniform.
- probationer
- An older British term for a nurse in training; it is even more dated than candy stripe nurse.
Word family
- candy stripe noun
- The striped pattern itself, often used for the fabric of such uniforms.
- nursing noun
- The profession or work of caring for sick people.
Commonly confused: candy stripe nurse or candy striper?
candy stripe nurse vs candy striper
This is the more common modern form and usually means a teenage hospital volunteer, not a trained student nurse.
Practice
Which sentence uses the term most naturally for a historical context?
Choose one answer.
A candy stripe nurse was a nursing student in the past, so a museum display about 1940s training fits. Option An is wrong because the term is historical and such nurses did not prescribe medicine; C and D are unrelated meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “candy stripe nurse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.