sweetheart
Americannoun
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sweethearts
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
Dolly Parton — the “queen of country,” benevolent ruler of Dollywood and America’s true sweetheart — died at age 80 last month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
Steven, now 35 and married to his high school sweetheart with a toddler, is a partner at Arena Capital, a small real-estate private-equity firm that invests in the Hudson Valley.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
Mum Linda said: "My sweetheart boy could never do no wrong, my life will never be the same with you not here. My heart will forever be broken."
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
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
The Jaguar's horn blasted once, twice, and was followed by a cheerful shout: "Belet, sweetheart!"
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
People also meet their sweethearts in college or at jobs that require similar qualifications.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 14, 2026
"It's here that we still meet our sweethearts, that we swap our numbers scribbled on little bits of paper," says fisherman Paulin Agbokounou.
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
“Apples float, and as the girls’ potential sweethearts ducked to catch the fruit with their teeth, future couplings were determined — or foretold.”
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2025
Those primitive sweethearts couldn’t imagine the need for a shepherd to steer every step of their relationship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2025
“No one goes with them to keep them company. The gringo way with sweethearts is to be alone.”
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
