I. tart 1 /tɑːt $ tɑːrt/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: tarte ; ]
[ Sense 2-3: Origin: probably partly from sweetheart ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] a ↑ pie without a top on it, containing something sweet
apple/treacle/jam etc tart
2 . [countable] informal an insulting word for a woman who you think is too willing to have sex
3 . [countable] informal a ↑ prostitute
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THESAURUS
■ describing the taste of something
▪ delicious having a very good taste:
This cake is delicious!
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a delicious meal
▪ disgusting/revolting having a very bad taste:
The medicine tasted disgusting.
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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.
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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.
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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.
II. tart 2 BrE AmE adjective
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: teart 'sharp, severe' ]
1 . food that is tart has a sharp sour taste:
a tart apple
2 . tart reply/remark etc a reply, remark etc that is sharp and unkind
—tartly adverb :
‘I don’t think so!’ she replied tartly.
—tartness noun [uncountable]
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THESAURUS
▪ bitter having a strong sharp taste that is not sweet, like black coffee without sugar - used especially about chocolate, medicine etc:
The dessert is made with a slightly bitter chocolate.
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Hops give beer its distinctive bitter taste.
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The medicine tasted bitter.
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As the lettuce gets older, the leaves become more bitter.
▪ sharp having a taste that makes your tongue sting slightly:
Rhubarb has quite a sharp taste.
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The cheese has a pleasing colour and a pleasantly sharp flavour.
▪ sour having a usually unpleasant sharp acid taste, like the taste of a lemon, or a fruit that is not ready to be eaten – used especially about fruit, or about liquids that have gone bad:
Some people say that the purpose of the lemon’s sour taste is to stop the fruit being eaten by animals.
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Rachel sampled the wine. It was sour.
▪ acidic very sour – used especially about liquids or things made with fruits such as oranges, lemons, or grapes:
Some fruit juices taste a bit acidic.
▪ tangy having a taste that is pleasantly strong or sharp, and that often tastes a little sweet as well:
The ribs are cooked in a tangy barbecue sauce.
▪ tart having a taste that lacks sweetness – used especially about fruit such as apples, which you need to add sugar to:
The pudding had rather a tart flavour.
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The trees were covered with tart wild plums.
III. tart 3 BrE AmE verb
tart something ↔ up phrasal verb British English informal
1 . to try to make something more attractive by decorating it, often in a way that other people think is cheap or ugly:
We’ll need to tart the place up a bit.
2 . tart yourself up/get tarted up if a woman tarts herself up or gets tarted up, she tries to make herself look attractive by putting on nice clothes, ↑ make-up etc – often used humorously:
She got all tarted up for the party.