pralines

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Sweet candies made from nuts and sugar, often with a soft creamy center and a chocolate coating.

   Grammar: Usually plural in everyday use; the singular 'praline' means one piece of this candy.

   Patterns

   • a box of pralines
   • make pralines
   • pralines and cream

   We bought a box of pralines in New Orleans and ate them all on the drive home.

   She gave me two pralines wrapped in gold paper for my birthday.

   The ice cream shop sells a popular pralines and cream flavor.

2. 2nouncountabletechnical

   A single sweet made of nuts cooked in caramelized sugar, common in French cooking.

   Grammar: Countable; use 'a praline' for one piece and 'pralines' for more than one.

   Patterns

   • a praline
   • cover something with praline
   • crushed praline

   The pastry chef sprinkled crushed praline over the cake.

   Each praline is made by cooking almonds in hot sugar until it hardens.

Word forms

Common combinations

a box of pralines

He brought a box of pralines back from his trip to the South.

pecan pralines

Pecan pralines are a famous treat in Louisiana.

pralines and cream

My favorite ice cream is pralines and cream.

make pralines

It takes patience to make pralines at home because the sugar burns quickly.

Synonyms and how they differ

candy

A general word for all sweet treats; 'pralines' is much more specific and names one kind.

sweets

The usual British word for candy in general; it does not name this particular nut candy.

Word family

praline noun

One single nut-and-sugar candy.

Commonly confused: pralines or prawn?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “pralines”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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