sweetheart
Americannoun
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either of a pair of lovers in relation to the other.
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(sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address.
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a beloved person.
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Informal. a generous, friendly person.
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Informal. anything that arouses loyal affection.
My old car was a real sweetheart.
noun
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a person loved by another
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informal a lovable, generous, or obliging person
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a term of endearment for a beloved or lovable person
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sweetheart
First recorded in 1250–1300, sweetheart is from Middle English swete herte. See sweet, heart
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.
He married his college sweetheart, with whom he would have triplet sons, and joined Exxon as a research engineer in Tulsa, Okla., in 1963.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
Ashleigh Stanley did not bother with make-up when she tied the knot with childhood sweetheart Jake Stanley, 29, at Llanerch Vineyard in Hensol, Vale of Glamorgan.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
She married her college sweetheart Larry King in 1965 and they divorced in 1987.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
Dedicated to his childhood sweetheart Paola Pugliese, it's a testament to their 34-year marriage.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
Pat, a vivacious college beauty queen just two months graduated from Virginia State College, was marrying her college sweetheart, a young army corporal named Walter Kane.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
