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

Some lean into sweet-on-sweet, others gravitate toward sweet-and-sour or spicy-and-sweet combinations.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2025

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 fried chicken skins I got were a bit tough, but served with a nicely nuanced sweet-and-sour sauce.

From Seattle Times • May 9, 2024

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 smell of garlic, ginger, and sweet-and-sour chicken wafted through the air.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas