sweet-and-sour

American  

[sweet-n-souuhr, -sou-er] / ˈswit nˈsaʊər, -ˈsaʊ ər /

adjective

1. cooked with sugar and vinegar or lemon juice and often other seasonings.

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sweet-and-sour British  

adjective

1. (of food) cooked in a sauce made from sugar and vinegar and other ingredients

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Etymology

Origin of sweet-and-sour

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

While Lindhome solo retains her trademark singsong, sweet-and-sour delivery, the themes within her work have deepened to reflect a more complicated stage of life.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2025

The restaurant, which has served dishes like hot-pot grouper and tofu, and sweet-and-sour pork with pineapple to Torontonians for nearly 50 years, was briefly name-checked in “Euphoria.”

From New York Times • May 6, 2024

The now-familiar sweet-and-sour flavour of General Tso's chicken was meant to woo a foreigner's taste buds, Mr Pei says.

From BBC • Jan. 6, 2024

Essentially an Italian "sweet-and-sour sauce," agrodolce is a perfect balance of the two taste sensations.

From Salon • Oct. 12, 2022

She brought him leftover sweet-and-sour pork, and went upstairs and read until he joined her.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel