tart

¹ American  

[tahrt] / tɑrt /

adjective

tarter, comparative tartest superlative

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

tarts plural

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tarts
  plural

Adjectives

• tarter
  comparative
• tartest
  superlative

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

Explanation

A tart is small pie filled with fruit or custard, with no top crust, like the cherry tarts you bought at the bakery. As an adjective, tart describes a sour taste, like lemon, or harsh words, like your friend's tart reply to a question that makes her mad. In the 19th century, tart was British slang for "pretty woman." Some believe it is a shortening of "sweetheart." But by the end of that century, tart described a prostitute, something many language scholars trace back to the tart that you get at the bakery.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tart tarts tarter tartest

These acids give kombucha its familiar tart flavor.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026

They slurped the cafe’s signature lavashak smoothie — a tart mixture including peaches, various berries and pomegranate molasses — and munched on slow-cooked lamb over nachos with melty Armenian string cheese.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

She presents her daughter’s sudden death in crisp, often tart prose that cannot mask the ache that lurks beneath the surface.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

In 2006, he served a custard tart to the late Queen Elizabeth II as part of her 80th birthday celebrations.

From BBC ● May 5, 2026

He has a Portuguese tart from his dad’s favorite bakery to share with us.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Finish the tarts with lemon zest, chopped chives, additional pecorino and another turn of black pepper.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

Six new Pasadena bakeries to visit for cinnamon rolls, cookies, croissants, Labubu tarts, bagels, gluten-free desserts and vegan pastries.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

The idea initially came from a colleague, who praised the homemade tarts he would bring into work.

From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2025

Its bakery will sell viral Asian treats, including lava mochi puffs and Napoleon Portuguese egg tarts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2025

Duane assured the fox that he would explain everything and that it might even make an entertaining story to tell while eating sorbets, tarts, and aplomb.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

English and organic red wines, which he says can taste tarter, are among his favourites to drink chilled.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Similar to the Italian lemons—the tarter Sorrento and the sweeter Sfumato—used to make limoncello, my two lemon varieties impart different levels of sweetness and tartness.

From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2022

Turning watermelon juice into a rich syrup made darker and tarter with dried hibiscus flowers, then mixing it with a smoky mezcal makes for a deep, rich sour.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2021

And there’s a rabbit hole of detail to descend into: freckles, skin moles and scars, teeth tarter, nose hair and shaving nicks on the necks and faces of figures.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2020

At last the smarter and tarter of the two orderlies, he who compounded the contents of the urns, sidled without ceremony to the commander's elbow.

From Notes of a Camp-Follower on the Western Front by Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William)

The most important contributor is black screenwriter Bill Gunn, adapting a 1966 novel by Kristin Hunter, also black, but adding most of the tartest lines and characterisations himself.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 4, 2012

In fact, the tartest sections of this book reflect Mr. Cheney’s frustration when things did not go his way.

From New York Times ● Aug. 25, 2011

“Man of the Hour,” one of the tartest songs from the new album, came next, and Ms. Jones’s ample indignation trumped the clunky lyrics.

From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2010

Hildebrand, a highly respected chemist, is one of the tartest critics of the life-adjustment and how-to-get-along kind of education being dished up by some of the nation's schools and teachers' colleges.

From Time Magazine Archive

This was spoken by Lady Janet in her tartest of voices, and with a steady stare at Upton, who stroked his moustaches in very palpable confusion.

From Roland Cashel Volume II (of II) by Lever, Charles James