sugar daddy

American  

[shoog-er dad-ee] / ˈʃʊg ər ˌdæd i /

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.

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sugar daddy British  

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

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sugar daddy Idioms  

1. 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]

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Usage

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 ]

Etymology

Origin of sugar daddy

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

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 • Nov. 12, 2024

“Now that the U.S. is no longer the big sugar daddy, the market has really diversified,” said Sean McFate, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of “The New Rules of War.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2021

Is French culture destroyed by the Nazis or by the moral depravity of rich men like Manon’s sugar daddy, Geronte, who make accommodations with them?

From New York Times • Nov. 15, 2016

Some of these scenarios were satisfying: Joan giving up her sugar daddy and starting her own business.

From The New Yorker • May 18, 2015

"This study shows that as long as they are given enough money to survive, girls will choose not to have a sugar daddy," said Lucie Cluver of the University of Oxford.

From BBC • Nov. 26, 2013