aspartame

American  

[uh-spahr-teym, a-spahr-, as-per-teym] / əˈspɑr teɪm, æˈspɑr-, ˈæs pərˌteɪm /

noun

1. a white, crystalline, odorless, slightly water-soluble noncarbohydrate powder, C 14 H 18 N 2 O 5 , synthesized from amino acids, that is 150–200 times as sweet as sugar: used as a low-calorie sugar substitute in soft drinks, table sweeteners, and other food products.

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aspartame British  

/ əˈspɑːˌteɪm /

noun

1. an artificial sweetener produced from aspartic acid. Formula: C 14 H 18 N 2 O 5

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aspartame Scientific  

/ ăs′pər-tām′,ə-spär′- /

1. An artificial sweetener formed from aspartic acid. Chemical formula: C ₁₄ H ₁₈ N ₂ O ₅ .

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Etymology

Origin of aspartame

1970–75; aspart(yl phenyl)a(linine) m(ethyl) e(ster) , the powder's chemical name

Example Sentences

They advise against consuming nonnutritive sweeteners, such as aspartame and sucralose.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026

Trump is a regular drinker of Diet Coke - which uses the artificial sweetener aspartame.

From BBC • Jul. 16, 2025

Whereas humans have one receptor on their tongues that can detect all sorts of sweet things, from real sugar to artificial sweeteners like aspartame, insects have many receptors that each detect specific types of sugars.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2024

So you can't just swap out sugars for aspartame.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2024

Back in June, I wrote about new recommendations from the World Health Organization that people limit artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharine and sucralose.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 18, 2023