I. sweet 1 S2 W3 /swiːt/ BrE AmE adjective ( comparative sweeter , superlative sweetest )
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ sweet , ↑ sweetener , ↑ sweetness , ↑ sweetie ; verb : ↑ sweeten ; adverb : ↑ sweetly ; adjective : ↑ sweet ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: swete ]
1 . TASTE containing or having a taste like sugar ⇨ sour , bitter , dry :
This tea is too sweet.
sweet juicy peaches
sweet wine
2 . CHARACTER kind, gentle, and friendly:
a sweet smile
How sweet of you to remember my birthday!
⇨ ↑ sweet-tempered
3 . CHILDREN/SMALL THINGS especially British English looking pretty and attractive SYN cute :
Your little boy looks very sweet in his new coat.
4 . THOUGHTS/EMOTIONS making you feel pleased, happy, and satisfied:
Revenge is sweet.
the sweet smell of success
the sweet taste of victory
Goodnight, Becky. Sweet dreams.
5 . SMELLS having a pleasant smell SYN fragrant :
sweet-smelling flowers
the sickly sweet (=unpleasantly sweet) smell of rotting fruit
6 . SOUNDS pleasant to listen to OPP harsh :
She has a very sweet singing voice.
7 . have a sweet tooth to like things that taste of sugar
8 . WATER/AIR if you describe water or air as sweet, you mean that it is fresh and clean OPP stale :
She hurried to the door and took great gulps of the sweet air.
9 . keep somebody sweet informal to behave in a pleasant friendly way towards someone, because you want them to help you later:
I’m trying to keep Mum sweet so that she’ll lend me the car.
10 . in your own sweet way/time if you do something in your own sweet way or time, you do it in exactly the way that you want to or when you want to, without considering what other people say or think:
You can’t just go on in your own sweet way; we have to do this together.
11 . a sweet deal American English a business or financial deal in which you get an advantage, pay a low price etc:
I got a sweet deal on the car.
12 . sweet FA ( also sweet Fanny Adams ) British English informal nothing at all – used when someone wants to avoid saying a swear word directly:
‘How much did they pay you for that job?’ ‘Sweet FA!’
13 . sweet nothings things that lovers say to each other:
a couple whispering sweet nothings to each other
14 . be sweet on somebody old-fashioned to be very attracted to or in love with someone
15 . sweet! spoken informal used to say that you think that something is very good:
‘I got four tickets to the concert.’ ‘Sweet!’
—sweetly adverb
⇨ home sweet home at ↑ home 1 (13), ⇨ short and sweet at ↑ short 1 (1), ⇨ ↑ sweetness
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THESAURUS
▪ sweet sweet food or drink has had sugar added or contains natural sugars:
Italian oranges are very sweet.
|
a cup of hot sweet tea
▪ sugary sweet because a lot of sugar has been added:
Sugary foods are bad for your teeth.
▪ sickly British English tasting unpleasantly sweet:
The dessert was rather sweet and sickly.
|
a sickly sweet fruit drink
▪ cloying tasting or smelling unpleasantly sweet:
I find strawberry and peach drinks too cloying.
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the cloying smell of fish oil
II. sweet 2 S2 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ sweet , ↑ sweetener , ↑ sweetness , ↑ sweetie ; verb : ↑ sweeten ; adverb : ↑ sweetly ; adjective : ↑ sweet ]
1 . [countable] British English a small piece of sweet food made of sugar or chocolate SYN candy American English :
Eating sweets is bad for your teeth.
a sweet shop
a packet of boiled sweets (=hard sweets that taste of fruit)
2 . [uncountable and countable] British English sweet food served after the meat and vegetables part of a meal SYN dessert :
Would you like a sweet, or some cheese and biscuits?
3 . (my) sweet old-fashioned used when speaking to someone you love:
Don’t cry, my sweet.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ describing the taste of something
▪ delicious having a very good taste:
This cake is delicious!
|
a delicious meal
▪ disgusting/revolting having a very bad taste:
The medicine tasted disgusting.
|
They had to eat revolting things, like fish eyes.
▪ sweet tasting full of sugar:
The oranges were very sweet.
▪ tasty especially spoken tasting good and with plenty of flavour:
She cooked us a simple but tasty meal.
|
That was really tasty!
▪ sour/tart having a taste that stings your tongue slightly, like lemon does – used especially when this is rather unpleasant:
The apples were a little sour.
|
The wine has rather a tart taste, which not everyone will like.
▪ tangy having a taste that stings your tongue slightly, like lemon does, in a way that seems good:
The dressing was nice and tangy.
▪ bitter having a strong taste which is not sweet and is sometimes rather unpleasant – used for example about black coffee, or chocolate without sugar:
bitter chocolate
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The medicine had rather a bitter taste.
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Hops give beer its distinctive bitter taste.
▪ salty containing a lot of salt:
Danish salami has a salty flavour.
▪ hot/spicy having a burning taste because it contains strong spices:
I love hot curries.
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a spicy tomato sauce
▪ piquant /ˈpiːkənt/ formal a little spicy – used especially by people who write about food. This word can sound rather ↑ pretentious in everyday conversation:
cooked vegetables in a piquant sauce
▪ mild not having a strong or hot taste – usually used about foods that can sometimes be spicy:
a mild curry
▪ bland not having an interesting taste:
I found the sauce rather bland.