Synonyms

sweet tooth

American

noun

a liking or craving for candy and other sweets.

sweet tooth British

noun

a strong liking for sweet foods

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sweet tooth Idioms

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.

Etymology

Origin of sweet tooth

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026

Here are the 8 best Trader Joe’s candies guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth this spooky season.

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2025

A couple has their three-year-old daughter's sweet tooth to thank for winning £524,000 in the EuroMillions.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2025

“Y’all got some kinda crazy sweet tooth or something?” he asks, ringing everything up.

From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023