sugar daddy

[shoog-er dad-ee]

noun

Slang.

plural

sugar daddies 

1. a wealthy man who spends freely on a younger person, generally a woman or a gay man, in return for companionship or sexual intimacy.

sugar daddy

noun

1. slang,  a rich usually middle-aged or old man who bestows expensive gifts on a young person in return for companionship or sexual favours

Word History and Origins

Origin of sugar daddy¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Idioms and Phrases

A wealthy, usually older man who gives expensive gifts to someone much younger in return for companionship or sexual favors. For example, The aspiring young actress and the sugar daddy are a classic combination in Hollywood. The sugar in this term alludes to the sweetening role of the gifts, and daddy to the age difference between the pair. [Early 1900s]

Example Sentences

They live together in the upscale apartment of Thooya's sugar daddy.

From BBC

Greenberg’s lawyer insisted he too had no idea that the girl was underage, telling reporters after his sentencing that the minor had advertised herself as being over 18 on a website for “sugar daddy” relationships.

From Salon

I didn’t want to have to become a businessperson, but that is what — without a sugar daddy or a trust fund, and outside the confines of academia — being an artist does to you.

From Salon

Ammar Moussa, a Harris campaign spokesman, dismissed the X event as a platform for lies, characterizing Trump and his “billionaire sugar daddy” as “infamous for their relationship with the truth.”

From Los Angeles Times

As the financial sugar daddy of research overseas that created COVID.

From Los Angeles Times

When To Use

What does sugar daddy mean?

A sugar daddy is an older man who may throw gifts, allowances, and trips on a younger woman or man in exchange for a consensual sexual relationship.How do you pronounce sugar daddy?[ shoo g-er dad-ee ]