The word sweet meaning

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English swete, from Old English swēte (“sweet”), from Proto-West Germanic *swōtī, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz (“sweet”), from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (“sweet”).

Cognate and synonymous with Scots sweit (“sweet”), North Frisian sweete (“sweet”), Saterland Frisian swäit (“sweet”), West Frisian swiet (“sweet”), Dutch zoet (“sweet”), German Low German sööt (“sweet”), German süß (“sweet”), Danish sød (“sweet”), Swedish söt (“sweet”), Norwegian søt (“sweet”), Icelandic sætur (“sweet”), Latin suāvis, Sanskrit स्वादु (svādú), Ancient Greek ἡδύς (hēdús). Doublet of suave.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (UK) IPA^(key): /swiːt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /swit/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /swiːt/
• Rhymes: -iːt
• Homophone: suite

Adjective[edit]

sweet (comparative sweeter, superlative sweetest)

1. Having a pleasant taste, especially one relating to the basic taste sensation induced by sugar.

   a sweet apple

2. Having a taste of sugar.
   • 2018 May 16, Adam Rogers, Wired, «The Fundamental Nihilism of Yanny vs. Laurel»:

     A few types of molecules get sensed by receptors on the tongue. Protons coming off of acids ping receptors for «sour.» Sugars get received as «sweet.» Bitter, salty, and the proteinaceous flavor umami all set off their own neural cascades.

3. (wine) Retaining a portion of sugar.

   Sweet wines are better dessert wines.

4. Not having a salty taste.

   sweet butter

5. Having a pleasant smell.

   a sweet scent

   • 1839, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Reaper and the Flowers”, in Voices of the Night, Cambridge, Mass.: […] John Owen, →OCLC, page 8:

     Though the breath of these flowers is sweet to me, / I will give them all back again.

6. Not decaying, fermented, rancid, sour, spoiled, or stale.

   sweet milk

7. Having a pleasant sound.

   a sweet tune

   • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, Ticknor and Fields, page 135:

     a voice sweet, tremulous, but powerful

8. Having a pleasing disposition.

   a sweet child

   You’re so sweet!

   • 2017 April 13, Mitchy Collins, Samantha Derosa, and Christian Medice, “Broken”, in Finding It Hard to Smile‎^[1], performed by Lovelytheband:

     There’s something tragic, but almost pure / Think I could love you, but I’m not sure / There’s something wholesome, there’s something sweet / Tucked in your eyes that I’d love to meet

9. Having a helpful disposition.

   It was sweet of him to help out.

10. (mineralogy) Free from excessive unwanted substances like acid or sulphur.

    sweet gas

    sweet soil

    sweet crude oil

11. (informal) Very pleasing; agreeable.

    The new Lexus was a sweet birthday gift.

    • 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 1:

      Her crew knew that deep in her heart beat engines fit and able to push her blunt old nose ahead at a sweet fourteen knots, come Hell or high water.

    • 14 November 2014, Steven Haliday, Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Maloney the hero

      GORDON Strachan enjoyed the sweetest of his 16 matches in charge of Scotland so far as his team enhanced their prospects of Euro 2016 qualification with a crucial and deserved victory over Republic of Ireland.

12. (slang) Doing well; in a good or happy position.

    • 2012, John Hoskison, Inside: One Man’s Experience of Prison:

      «Visit in two days though,» said Tommo. «Hang in there mate, got a joey coming, we’ll be sweet then.»

13. (informal, followed by on) Romantically fixated; enamored with; fond of.

    The attraction was mutual and instant; they were sweet on one another from first sight.

14. Fresh; not salt or brackish.

    sweet water

    • 1627, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum: or A Natural History, in The Works of Francis Bacon (1826), page 66

      The white of an egg, or blood mingled with salt water, doth gather the saltness and maketh the water sweeter; this may be by adhesion.

    • 1821, Robert Thomas, The modern practice of physic, page 713:

      Nothing has been found so effectual for preserving water sweet at sea, during long voyages, as charring the insides of the casks well before they are filled.

15. (of soil, UK, dated) Alkaline.
16. Pleasing to the eye; beautiful; mild and attractive; fair.

    a sweet face

    a sweet colour or complexion

    • 1667, John Milton, Paradise lost (source), Samuel Simmons, page 278:

      Sweet interchange / Of hill and valley, rivers, woods, and plains.

17. An intensifier.

    • 2014, Rexanne Becnel, Leaving L.A., page 12:

      For someone who hadn’t seen her only sister in over twenty years, Alice sure took her sweet time.

Synonyms[edit]

• (having a taste of sugar): saccharine, sugary
• (containing a sweetening ingredient): sugared, sweetened
• (not having a salty taste): fresh, unsalty
• (having a pleasant smell): fragrant, odoriferous, odorous, perfumed, scented, sweet-scented, sweet-smelling
• (not decaying, fermented, rancid, sour, spoiled, or stale): fresh, unfermented, wholesome
• (having a pleasant sound): dulcet, honeyed, mellifluous, mellisonant
• (having a pleasing disposition): cute, lovable, pleasant
• (having a helpful disposition): kind, gracious, helpful, sensitive, thoughtful
• ((informal) very pleasing): rad, awesome, wicked

Antonyms[edit]

• (having a pleasant taste): bitter, sour, salty
• (containing a sweetening ingredient): nonsweet, sugarless, unsugared, unsweetened, unsweet
• (of wines: retaining a portion of natural sugar): dry
• (not decaying, fermented, rancid, sour, spoiled, or stale): decaying, fermented, rancid, sour, spoiled, stale
• (not having a salty taste): salty, savoury
• (free from excessive unwanted substances): sour
• (alkaline): sour
• ((informal) very pleasing): lame, uncool

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Interjection[edit]

sweet

1. Used as a positive response to good news or information.

   They’re making a sequel? Ah, sweet!

Adverb[edit]

sweet (comparative more sweet, superlative most sweet)

1. In a sweet manner.

   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     «and, sweet my child, let them be men of good repute and carriage.»
     (and, my child, allow them sweetly to be men with good reputations and conduct)

Synonyms[edit]

• (in a sweet manner): sweetly

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

sweet (countable and uncountable, plural sweets)

1. (uncountable) The basic taste sensation induced by sugar.
2. (countable, Britain) A confection made from sugar, or high in sugar content; a candy.
3. (countable, Britain) A food eaten for dessert.

   Can we see the sweet menu, please?

4. Synonym of sweetheart, a term of affection.

   • Wherefore frowns my sweet?

   • 1936 Aug., Ernest Hemingway, «The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber», Cosmopolitan:

     «You think that I’ll take anything.»
     «I know you will, sweet…»
     «There wasn’t going to be any of that. You promised there wouldn’t be.»
     «Well, there is now,» she said sweetly.

   Good evening, my sweet.

5. (obsolete) That which is sweet or pleasant in odour; a perfume.
6. (obsolete) Sweetness, delight; something pleasant to the mind or senses.
   • 1613, John Marston, William Barksted, The Insatiate Countess, III.2:

     Fear’s fire to fervency, which makes love’s sweet prove nectar.

Synonyms[edit]

• (sweet taste sensation): See sweetness
• (food that is high in sugar content): bonbon, candy (US), confection, confectionery, lolly (Australia)
• (food eaten for dessert): See dessert

Derived terms[edit]

• spoon sweet
• sweet shop / sweetshop

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

sweet (third-person singular simple present sweets, present participle sweeting, simple past and past participle sweeted)

1. (obsolete or poetic) To sweeten.

   • 1825, John Breckinridge & C.R. Harrison, Western Luminary … — Volume 1, page 318:

     In size and shape it resembles the heart of a calf, and the interior substance is similar to thick cream, sweeted with fine sugar.

   • 1890, The Cincinnati Lancet-clinic — Volume 63, page 331:

     It might also be given in the form of a mixture — the drug being insoluble in a watery menstruum — suspended by the aid of mucilage and sweeted by any of the various flavoring syrups.

   • 1997, Morag Styles, From the Garden to the Street, →ISBN:

     Bring me now where the warm wind blows, where the grasses sigh, where the sweet-tongued blossom flowers; where the shower, fan soft like a fishermans net thrown through the sweeted air.

   • 2012, Keith Ringkamp, PATIENCE WORTH: A Balm for Every Ill, →ISBN, page 34:

     A sour maketh sweets two-fold sweeted.

Anagrams[edit]

• Tewes, weest, weets

Afrikaans[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /svɪə̯t/

Etymology 1[edit]

From Dutch zweet, from Middle Dutch sweet, from Old Dutch *sweit, *swēt, from Proto-Germanic *swait-, from Proto-Indo-European *sweyd-.

Noun[edit]

sweet (uncountable)

1. sweat

   Daar was baie sweet op haar voorhoof.

   There was a lot of sweat on her forehead.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Dutch zweten, from Middle Dutch swêten.

Verb[edit]

sweet (present sweet, present participle swetende, past participle gesweet)

1. to sweat

Chinese[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• 時weet／时weet (si⁴ wit¹), 是weet (si⁶ wit¹), 士weet (si⁶ wit¹)

Etymology[edit]

From English sweet.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

sweet

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) romantic

Derived terms[edit]

Middle Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Dutch *swēt, from Proto-Germanic *swait-.

Noun[edit]

swêet n

1. sweat, perspiration

Inflection[edit]

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Alternative forms[edit]

• sweit

Derived terms[edit]

• swêten

Descendants[edit]

• Dutch: zweet
• Limburgish: zweit

Further reading[edit]

• “sweet”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “sweet”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

Yola[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English swete, from Old English swēte, from Proto-West Germanic *swōtī.

Adjective[edit]

sweet

1. sweet

   • 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2:

     Hea marreet dear Phielim to his sweet Jauane.

     He married dear Phelim to his sweet Joan.

References[edit]

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 94

Recent Examples on the Web

Watch the proposal and her sweet reaction to not one, but two unexpected events!


—Zulekha Nathoo, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2023




As a result, the music may be new to many showgoers, but the sweet, rolling melodies of Puccini sound instantly familiar.


—San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Feb. 2023




Add a soundtrack bursting at the seams with blasts from the not-so-distant ’80s past, and The Wedding Singer seems certain to make sweet boxoffice music for New Line.


—Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Feb. 2023




Know your audience – don’t send sweet offers to Roxanne that make no sense to her.


—Jenn Mcmillen, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2023




Loving, tightly wound single parent Debbie (Witherspoon) lives in a humble zillion-dollar bungalow on a Silver Lake hillside in Los Angeles with her sweet, wise, oversheltered and allergy-prone 13-year-old son, Jack (Wesley Kimmel).


—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2023




What to Consider: The sweet scents may not be for everyone.


—Talia Ergas, Travel + Leisure, 13 Feb. 2023




Gendered dating tropes are entirely absent, with the game leaning instead on the inherent awkwardness of early romantic relationships for both comedic and sweet moments.


—WIRED, 13 Feb. 2023




Carena’s plating is usually uncomplicated, as in a chickpea crepe with ricotta and tomato ragout that’s folded like an omelet rather than a traditional galette, or a nut cheese ice cream that comes partially melted, almost like a sweet soup.


—Lindsey Tramuta Thibault Montamat, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2023

As the Moon in your 7th House of Partnerships trines sweet-talking Venus in your 3rd House of Discussion, telling your story could convince other people who have a stake in the situation to help you.


—Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2022




African American Sports and Entertainment Group spend the past year sweet-talking the WNBA about putting a new team in Oakland?


—Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Oct. 2021

Cupcakes, tarts, cream puffs and assorted sweets fill the dessert display.


—Elaine Rewolinski, Journal Sentinel, 24 Mar. 2023




In the food court, the pizzeria will join a Mexican restaurant, a vegan spot, a burger counter and a sweets shop.


—Cheryl V. Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 24 Mar. 2023




Carlin Stiehl for The Boston Globe/Carlin Stiehl Shanti’s Iftar Box, available March 22 to April 20, includes kala chana, black chickpeas with potatoes, onions, and spices; piaju bhaji, lentil fritters; vegetable biryani; traditional sweets — and, of course, dates.


—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Mar. 2023




In early 2020, then-Bullard partners Jen Quist and Doug Adams tried to make one happen, complete with a decent happy hour, arcade, TVs showing sports and a sweets shop next door.


—Mrussell, oregonlive, 17 Mar. 2023




Exotics Only is a specialty food shop that sells snacks, sweets and drinks from around the world, out of a small storefront in a South Gate shopping center.


—Jenn Harriscolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2023




Instead, create a sweets-laden charcuterie board for after the ham and side dishes.


—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Feb. 2023




There will be crafts, arts, jewelry, sweets, and business sales booths.


—Linda Mcintosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2023




The restaurant opened at the foot of an apartment building in fall of 2022 with lattes, smoothies, sweets, breakfasts and soul foods as well as burgers.


—Cheryl V. Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 24 Mar. 2023


See More

Rosa, Coretta…I hear you girls singing in the Choir today..sweet sweet music..continuing your work from up there.. ❋ Unknown (2006)

With sweet almonds always use a small portion of bitter; without them, _sweet_ almonds have little or no taste, though they add to the richness of the cake. ❋ Mrs. F.L. Gillette (N/A)

I love the decorations, the cute costumes, and all of the sweet treats … it was definitely a holiday invented for those with a * sweet* tooth (that’s totally me!). ❋ Unknown (2008)

Dear Mother Bonnivel, is it wicked that I can’t be sad and regretful, but that the freedom is so sweet — _so sweet_? » ❋ Fannie E. Newberry (N/A)

Opposite, another young lawyer, Eugene Fort, was saying preternaturally bright things to Tiny, who lifted her sweet orbs at intervals and remarked: «How _dreadfully_ clever you are, Mr. Fort; I am _so_ afraid of you!» or «How _sweet_ of you to think I am worth all those _real_ epigrams! ❋ Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (1902)

The woman leaned toward me, her expression sweet and generous. ❋ Claudia Mair Burney (2010)

It is not the orange thing we associate with the term sweet potato. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Ms. DICKINSON: That’s what we call a sweet gig, my friend. ❋ Unknown (2010)

A good starting point in creating a happy kitchen, according to Mr. Grey, is discovering what he calls the sweet spot. ❋ Tara Loader Wilkinson (2010)

But when they broke up this meeting, they sounded a little bit less optimistic than they did earlier today, because they said, in many ways, it is very tough, very difficult to find what they called the sweet spot, enough money to cut but enough to spend to make everybody happy and to really stimulate the economy. ❋ Unknown (2009)

This sweet is also offered as Naivedya on many ocassions. ❋ Anjali (2006)

Try to find a role that plays both to your motivations and to your strengths — what we call the sweet spot. ❋ Unknown (2007)

He says a cell phone repair company gave him what he calls a sweet Nissan 350 Z and three iPhones in exchange for the iPhone that he hacked. ❋ Unknown (2007)

He kissed her over and over again, pausing for only a moment to say, “Now this is what I call sweet.” ❋ Caridad Pineiro (2006)

He sang what he called sweet songs, songs like Irving Berlin’s «Always,» and it was rather sophisticated for a black man with a large family to know music of that nature. ❋ Unknown (2006)

«Now that is what I call sweet of you,» Jack observed as he greeted the four girls, all seated around a low porch table with knives and beans plying from basket to pan. ❋ Margaret Penrose (N/A)

Those qualities of the voice which we speak of as sweet, harsh, and sympathetic depend to a great extent upon the peculiar structure of the vocal cords of the individual. ❋ Albert F. Blaisdell (N/A)

He rather liked Murphy, who had addressed him as young feller — a term sweet to the ears of any man when he had passed forty-five and was still going. ❋ B. M. Bower (1905)

The sugar and salt I can point out to my neighbor and only in that way I understand what he means if he says that he tastes salt and sweet; otherwise I should have no means whatever to discriminate whether that which he calls a sweet taste sensation is not just what I call headache. ❋ Hugo M��nsterberg (1889)

THat was so sweet what [you just did]. ❋ Anonymous (2002)

«[Mashed potatoes] [for dinner]. Sweet.»
«I just won [a million] dollars? SWEEEEEEET!» ❋ Tlc (2004)

They [adore] her because she is sweet. ❋ LINDAR (2006)

1. «[Aww], you’re so [sweet]!»
2. «[Sweet]!» ❋ Pyran (2008)

he [bought me] [a box of chocolates], [how sweet]! ❋ Jeannie Nelson (2010)

You don’t want a lap dance?! What, [you sweet] or somethin?
This [sweet ass] n*[gga] sat and watched as his man got jumped outside the club. ❋ Willis, Drew (2006)

1)Hey I just got the last [tickets] to the [concert]. Sweet!
2)[Oh man] that concert was so sweet! ❋ Julianne (2004)

My [booty] is to [sweet for you] ❋ Gen Z Has No Humor (2020)

How [did that] guy land such a beautiful wife? Dude, look at his fancy [slippers] and [symmetrical] hair, he is looking sweet. ❋ KONICKI (2010)

that was sweet ❋ Tweek (1999)

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Life is very sweet, brother; who would wish to die?

George Borrow

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD SWEET

Old English swēte; related to Old Saxon swōti, Old High German suozi, Old Norse sœtr, Latin suādus persuasive, suāvis sweet, Greek hēdus, Sanskrit svādu.

PRONUNCIATION OF SWEET

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SWEET

Sweet can act as a noun, an adjective and an adverb.

WHAT DOES SWEET MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of sweet in the English dictionary

The first definition of sweet in the dictionary is having or denoting a pleasant taste like that of sugar. Other definition of sweet is agreeable to the senses or the mind. Sweet is also having pleasant manners; gentle.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH SWEET

SYNONYMS OF «SWEET»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «sweet» and belong to the same grammatical category.

TRANSLATION OF SWEET

Find out the translation of sweet to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «SWEET»

The term «sweet» is very widely used and occupies the 1.436 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of sweet

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «SWEET» OVER TIME

10 QUOTES WITH «SWEET»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word sweet.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SWEET»

Discover the use of sweet in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to sweet and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SWEET»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term sweet is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Sweet [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/sweet>. Apr 2023 ».