sweet tooth

American  

noun

1. a liking or craving for candy and other sweets.

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sweet tooth British  

noun

1. a strong liking for sweet foods

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sweet tooth Idioms  

1. A love for sugary foods, as in You can always please Nell with cake or ice cream; she has a big sweet tooth. This expression dates from the late 1300s, although it then referred not only to sweets but other delicacies as well.

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Etymology

Origin of sweet tooth

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sweet tooth

But orders started falling when customers lost their sweet tooth as the price of a bar of chocolate rose by up to 50 percent.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

"They are too sweet for me," Alina says, "and I have a sweet tooth."

From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026

It’s just the right level of sweetness and it doesn’t assault your sweet tooth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026

My grandmother supplied my sweet tooth with cookies and chocolate at every visit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

The brick oven had been heated for two nights in a row, and the whole family had gone without sugar since Sunday to make sure that the minister’s notorious sweet tooth would be satisfied.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare