sweet

Syllabification: (sweet)

Pronunciation: /swēt/

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Definition of sweet

adjective

1having the pleasant taste characteristic of sugar or honey; not salty, sour, or bitter:a cup of hot sweet tea figurativea sweet taste of success
(of air, water, or food) fresh, pure, and untainted:lungfuls of the clean, sweet air
[often in combination] smelling pleasant like flowers or perfume; fragrant:sweet-smelling flowers

2pleasing in general; delightful:it was the sweet life he had always craved
highly satisfying or gratifying:some sweet, short-lived revenge
[often as exclamation] informal used in expressions of assent or approval:Yeah, I’d like to come to the party. Sweet
working, moving, or done smoothly or easily:the sweet handling of this motorcycle
(of sound) melodious or harmonious:the sweet notes of the flute
denoting music, especially jazz, played at a steady tempo without improvisation.

3(of a person or action) pleasant and kind or thoughtful:a very sweet nurse came along
(especially of a person or animal) charming and endearing:a sweet little cat
[predic.] (sweet on) informal dated infatuated or in love with:she seemed quite sweet on him
dear; beloved:my sweet love
archaic used as a respectful form of address:go to thy rest, sweet sir

4used for emphasis in various phrases and exclamations:What had happened? Sweet nothing
(one's own sweet ——) used to emphasize the unpredictable individuality of someone’s actions:I’d rather carry on in my own sweet way

noun

1chiefly British a small shaped piece of confectionery made with sugar:a bag of sweets

2 (sweets) sweet foods, collectively:Americans eat too many sweets
British a sweet dish forming a course of a meal; a dessert:she served up a lovely sweet made with whipped chestnuts and almond paste

3used as an affectionate form of address to a person one is very fond of:hello, my sweet

4 (the sweet) archaic or literary the sweet part or element of something:you have had the bitter, now comes the sweet
(sweets) the pleasures or delights found in something:the sweets of office

Phrases

sweet dreams: used to express good wishes to a person going to bed.
sweet sixteen: used to refer to the age of sixteen as characterized by prettiness and innocence in a girl.

Derivatives

sweetish
sweetly

Origin:

Old English swēte, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zoet, German süss, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin suavis and Greek hēdus

sweet in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of sweet in the British & World English dictionary

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Other

sweet

adjective

noun

Phrases

sweet dreams

sweet sixteen

Derivatives

sweetish

sweetly

Origin:

sweet in other Oxford dictionaries

Nearby words

More results for sweet

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