sweet
adjective
having the taste or flavor characteristic of sugar, honey, etc.
sweet
1 American
[sweet]
/ swit /
adjective
-
sweeter,
comparative
-
sweetest
superlative
-
having the taste or flavor characteristic of sugar, honey, etc.
- Synonyms:
- sugary
-
producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not bitter, sour, or salt.
-
not rancid or stale; fresh.
This milk is still sweet.
-
not salt or salted.
sweet butter.
-
pleasing to the ear; making a delicate, pleasant, or agreeable sound; musical.
- Synonyms:
- mellifluous, melodious
-
pleasing or fresh to the smell; fragrant; perfumed.
-
pleasing or agreeable; delightful.
-
amiable; kind or gracious, as a person, action, etc.
-
easily managed; done or effected without effort.
-
(of wine) not dry; containing unfermented, natural sugar.
-
(of a cocktail) made with a greater proportion of vermouth than usual.
-
sentimental, cloying, or unrealistic.
a sweet painting of little kittens.
-
(of air) fresh; free from odor, staleness, excess humidity, noxious gases, etc.
-
free from acidity or sourness, as soil.
-
Chemistry.
-
devoid of corrosive or acidic substances.
-
(of fuel oil or gas) containing no sulfur compounds.
-
-
(of jazz or big band music) performed with a regular beat, moderate tempo, lack of improvisation, and an emphasis on warm tone and clearly outlined melody.
adverb
interjection
noun
-
sweets
plural
-
a sweet flavor, smell, or sound; sweetness.
-
something that is sweet or causes or gives a sweet flavor, smell, or sound.
-
sweets,
-
candy, pie, cake, and other foods high in sugar content.
-
Informal. sweet potatoes.
-
-
Chiefly British.
-
a piece of candy; confection or bonbon.
-
a sweet dish or dessert, as a pudding or tart.
-
-
something pleasant to the mind or feelings.
-
a beloved person.
-
Often sweets (in direct address) darling; sweetheart.
Yes, my sweet.
idioms
-
sweet on, infatuated with; in love with.
He's sweet on her.
-
short and sweet. see short and sweet.
Sweet
2
American
[sweet]
/ swit /
noun
sweet
1
British
/ swiːt /
adjective
-
having or denoting a pleasant taste like that of sugar
-
agreeable to the senses or the mind
sweet music
-
having pleasant manners; gentle
a sweet child
-
(of wine, etc) having a relatively high sugar content; not dry
-
(of foods) not decaying or rancid
sweet milk
-
not salty
sweet water
-
free from unpleasant odours
sweet air
-
containing no corrosive substances
sweet soil
-
(of petrol) containing no sulphur compounds
-
sentimental or unrealistic
-
individual; particular
the electorate went its own sweet way
-
jazz performed with a regular beat, with the emphasis on clearly outlined melody and little improvisation
-
slang satisfactory or in order; all right
-
archaic respected; dear (used in polite forms of address)
sweet sir
-
smooth and precise; perfectly executed
a sweet shot
-
fond of or infatuated with
-
to ingratiate oneself in order to ensure cooperation
adverb
noun
-
a sweet taste or smell; sweetness in general
-
(often plural) any of numerous kinds of confectionery consisting wholly or partly of sugar, esp of sugar boiled and crystallized ( boiled sweets )
-
a pudding, fruit, or any sweet dish served as a dessert
-
dear; sweetheart (used as a form of address)
-
anything that is sweet
-
(often plural) a pleasurable experience, state, etc
the sweets of success
-
See sweet potato
Sweet
2
British
noun
sweet
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
oversweetnessnoun
-
supersweetnessnoun
-
sweetnessnoun
-
nonsweetadjective
-
oversweetadjective
-
supersweetadjective
-
sweetishadjective
-
oversweetlyadverb
-
supersweetlyadverb
-
sweetlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sweet
First recorded before 900; (adjective and adverb) Middle English swet(e), Old English swēte (adjective); (noun) Middle English swet(e), derivative of the adjective; cognate with Old Saxon swōti, Old High German swuozi ( German süss ); akin to Dutch zoet, Old Norse sætr, Gothic suts, Sanskrit svādú-, Greek hēdýs, hādýs “sweet,” Latin suāvis “pleasant” and suādēre “to recommend”
Explanation
Food that’s sweet is full of sugar, bad for your teeth, but oh so tasty. People who are sweet are super nice, like that sweet lunch lady who gives you an extra cookie. Sweet can be an adjective or a noun. It can describe something pleasing to the senses, like a sweet song, or when you're playing basketball and get nothing but net. Sweet! As a noun, it's a confection, a little something for dessert. The poet Khalil Gibran said, “Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.” Don’t opportunistically take your friends for granted, or you could become the target of some sweet revenge.
Vocabulary lists containing sweet
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:
They’re honoring this beautiful past while they’re creating something totally their own alongside their father, and they couldn’t be more sweet and grateful and talented.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Some find success sweet but fleeting, others spend years building to the pinnacle, and then there are those whose lasting glory evolves into a dynasty.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
If he does make it to Chiclayo, the pope will be able to indulge his famously sweet tooth with an array of goodies fashioned in his likeness.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
The cocoa in the Trader Joe’s version has a bitterness that delivers a more balanced bite by cutting straight through the salt and sweet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
There was even a sweet bread that he called “Pueblo Pop-Tarts” that he’d sometimes get at the flea market in Gallup.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
For Sweet, that means more hours at the laboratory bench, carefully cutting and analyzing tiny sections of tumor tissue in the search for answers to one of cancer biology's most important questions.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
Sweet potatoes and carrots can take it, and the coconut milk mellows everything considerably.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
The stands were bathed in sunshine and fans looked like they were having the time of their life as they sang Sweet Caroline and Wonderwall in unison.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Sweet Harvest Church is surrounded by agricultural fields in an area of Fresno where many low-income families live and work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Sweet and low so neighbors wouldn’t report them to Ms. Byrd, or to the police for disturbing the peace.
From "Clayton Byrd Goes Underground" by Rita Williams-Garcia
The genre is known for sweets with distinct shapes, tastes and textures, all of which are made without artificial coloring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
"Our study, which used more than 9,000 recorded meals, suggests that modifying diet during and after antibiotics, specifically by reducing sweets intake, could help with that."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
In August, he finished the Three Peaks Challenge in 22 hours and 30 minutes alongside his dad, powered by ham and cheese sandwiches, sour sweets and four months' training.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
It was his idea to revamp his diet, cutting all sweets, processed foods and seed oils.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
With a shrug and glowing eyes, Celaena pulled out a handful of sweets.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
For sweeter, earthier soups made with squash or root vegetables, I tend toward vinegars with a little fruitiness of their own, like apple cider vinegar or my current favorite, white balsamic.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
"I worked incredibly hard, showed a lot of grit and determination. I think these are a lot sweeter than the ones you win with ease."
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
"Conversely, the sweeter milk chocolate scent acts more like a hedonic reward cue, enhancing training volume by creating a highly pleasant sensory environment rather than by shifting basic metabolic hunger signals."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
After years of teaching Americans to appreciate bitter aperitifs, Campari is trying a sweeter approach for its newest U.S. release—aided by a touch of FOMO.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
And, sweeter yet, it was a new world and Olympic record, eclipsing California’s 1928 time of 6:03.2.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
It might be the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted—and was the only drink I couldn’t finish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Wearing a light pink dress and a warm smile, “she looked like everyone’s sweetest grandmother,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Now the 74-year-old club legend walks away - if indeed he does walk away - with a Premiership and Scottish Cup double which will go down as one of their sweetest, given the circumstances.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
“He had the biggest heart and the sweetest soul,” the fundraiser for the family said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
Figure 2.9: Voices are as individual as faces; some altos will have a narrower or wider range, or the sweetest and most powerful part of their range in a different place than other altos.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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