tart

¹

[tahrt]

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

tart

²

[tahrt]

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.

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

/ tɑːt /

adjective

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

2. cutting, sharp, or caustic

   a tart remark

tart

²

/ tɑːt /

noun

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

tart

³

/ tɑːt /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tart¹

Old English teart rough; related to Dutch tarten to defy, Middle High German traz defiance

Origin of tart²

C14: from Old French tarte, of uncertain origin; compare Medieval Latin tarte

Origin of tart³

C19: shortened from _sweetheart

Example Sentences

The variety is a love child of the Honeycrisp and a more robust Enterprise apple, producing an eating experience that is reminiscent of its parent but slightly more tart and dense.

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For me, the most novel recipes are found in the drinks section, which includes recipes for egg creams, tart shrubs and sweet syrups—nods to the elaborate soda fountains that flourished in the past century.

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The tart headline: “How about less time breaking the internet and more time fixing California?”

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There’s no comedy equivalent of Jean Smart’s hilariously blunt mom in this story; instead, Ingelsby trades that tart energy for a transcendent joy accentuating the disheveled humanity of people who could be any of us.

Read more on Salon

Tangy, herbaceous pickle brine paired with sweet yet tart lemonade is a summertime match made in heaven.

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