tart

¹ American  

[tahrt] / tɑrt /

adjective

tarter, tartest

1. sharp to the taste; sour or acid.

   Tart apples are best for pie.

   Synonyms:

   piquant, acrid, astringent

   Antonyms:

   mellow, bland, sugary, sweet

2. sharp in character, spirit, or expression; cutting; biting.

   a tart remark.

   Synonyms:

   acrimonious, acerbic, caustic, barbed, sarcastic

   Antonyms:

   benign, gracious, gentle, kind, sweet

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tart ² American  

[tahrt] / tɑrt /

noun

1. a small pie filled with cooked fruit or other sweetened preparation, usually having no top crust.

2. a covered pie containing fruit or the like.

3. Slang. a prostitute or sexually promiscuous woman.

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verb phrase

1. tart up to adorn, dress, or decorate, especially in a flamboyant manner.

   The old restaurant was tarted up to look like a Viennese café.

tart ¹ British  

/ tɑːt /

adjective

1. (of a flavour, food, etc) sour, acid, or astringent

2. cutting, sharp, or caustic

   a tart remark

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tart ² British  

/ tɑːt /

noun

1. a pastry case often having no top crust, with a sweet or savoury filling

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tart ³ British  

/ tɑːt /

noun

1. informal a promiscuous woman, esp a prostitute: often a term of abuse See also tart up

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Other Word Forms

• tartish adjective
• tartishly adverb
• tartly adverb
• tartness noun
• tarty adjective

Etymology

Origin of tart¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English teart “sharp, rough”; akin to Dutch tarten “to defy,” Middle High German traz “defiance”

Origin of tart²

First recorded in 1350–1400; 1905–10 tart ² for def. 3; Middle English tarte, from Middle French; compare Medieval Latin tarta

Example Sentences

The whole city of Chicago seemed suddenly to overflow with orange pumpkins and tart apples.

From Literature

Goldenberries are mostly grown in South America and are becoming more popular because of their nutrition and their balance of sweet and tart flavors.

From Science Daily

From the fevered brow of social media comes the tart phrase “aura farming.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate includes a tart warning on the copyright page that the surname “is used by a number of publishers and may serve mainly to mislead an unwary buyer.”

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s a salad that can sit in the fridge for days without losing its snap, yet it’s never inert: a forkful zings, a little sweet, a little tart, a little green, a little peppery.

From Salon