n. & v.
n. 1 a sweet crystalline substance obtained from various plants, esp. the sugar cane and sugar beet, used in cookery, confectionery, brewing, etc.; sucrose. 2 Chem. any of a group of soluble usu. sweet-tasting crystalline carbohydrates found esp. in plants, e.g. glucose. 3 esp. US colloq. darling, dear (used as a term of address). 4 sweet words; flattery. 5 anything comparable to sugar encasing a pill in reconciling a person to what is unpalatable. 6 sl. a narcotic drug, esp. heroin or LSD (taken on a lump of sugar).
v.tr. 1 sweeten with sugar. 2 make (one's words, meaning, etc.) more pleasant or welcome. 3 coat with sugar (sugared almond). 4 spread a sugar mixture on (a tree) to catch moths. sugar beet a beet, Beta vulgaris, from which sugar is extracted. sugar-candy see CANDY 1. sugar cane Bot. any perennial tropical grass of the genus Saccharum, esp. S. officinarum, with tall stout jointed stems from which sugar is made. sugar-coated 1 (of food) enclosed in sugar. 2 made superficially attractive. sugar-daddy (pl. -ies) sl. an elderly man who lavishes gifts on a young woman. sugar-gum Bot. an Australian eucalyptus, Eucalyptus cladocalyx, with sweet foliage eaten by cattle. sugar loaf a conical moulded mass of sugar. sugar-maple any of various trees, esp. Acer saccharum, from the sap of which sugar is made. sugar of lead Chem. = lead acetate (see LEAD(2)). sugar-pea a variety of pea eaten whole including the pod. sugar the pill see PILL. sugar soap an alkaline compound for cleaning or removing paint. sugarless adj.
[ ME f. OF çukre, sukere f. It. zucchero prob. f. med.L succarum f. Arab. sukkar ]