sugar

[ shoog-er ]
See synonyms for sugar on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a sweet, crystalline substance, C12H22O11, obtained chiefly from the juice of the sugarcane and the sugar beet, and present in sorghum, maple sap, etc.: used extensively as an ingredient and flavoring of certain foods and as a fermenting agent in the manufacture of certain alcoholic beverages; sucrose.: Compare beet sugar, cane sugar.

  2. Chemistry. a member of the same class of carbohydrates, as lactose, glucose, or fructose.

  1. (sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address, as to a child or a romantic partner (sometimes offensive when used to strangers, casual acquaintances, subordinates, etc., especially by a male to a female).

  2. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter S.

  3. Slang. money.

  4. Slang. LSD

verb (used with object)
  1. to cover, sprinkle, mix, or sweeten with sugar.

  2. to make agreeable.

verb (used without object)
  1. to form sugar or sugar crystals.

  2. to make maple sugar.

Verb Phrases
  1. sugar off, (in making maple sugar) to complete the boiling down of the syrup in preparation for granulation.

Origin of sugar

1
1250–1300; Middle English sugre, sucre (noun) <Middle French sucre<Medieval Latin succārum<Italian zucchero<Arabic sukkar; obscurely akin to Persian shakar,Greek sákcharon (see sacchar-)

Other words from sugar

  • sug·ar·less, adjective
  • sug·ar·like, adjective
  • non·sug·ar, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for sugar (1 of 2)

sugar

/ (ˈʃʊɡə) /


noun
  1. Also called: sucrose, saccharose a white crystalline sweet carbohydrate, a disaccharide, found in many plants and extracted from sugar cane and sugar beet: it is used esp as a sweetening agent in food and drinks. Formula: C 12 H 22 O 11: Related adjective: saccharine

  2. any of a class of simple water-soluble carbohydrates, such as sucrose, lactose, and fructose

  1. informal, mainly US and Canadian a term of affection, esp for one's sweetheart

  2. rare a slang word for money

  3. a slang name for LSD

verb
  1. (tr) to add sugar to; make sweet

  2. (tr) to cover or sprinkle with sugar

  1. (intr) to produce sugar

  2. sugar the pill or sugar the medicine to make something unpleasant more agreeable by adding something pleasant: the government stopped wage increases but sugared the pill by reducing taxes

Origin of sugar

1
C13 suker, from Old French çucre, from Medieval Latin zuccārum, from Italian zucchero, from Arabic sukkar, from Persian shakar, from Sanskrit śarkarā

Derived forms of sugar

  • sugarless, adjective
  • sugar-like, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for Sugar (2 of 2)

Sugar

/ (ˈʃʊɡə) /


noun
  1. Alan (Michael). Baron. born 1947, British electronics entrepreneur; chairman of Amstrad (1968–2008); noted for his BBC series The Apprentice (from 2005)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for sugar

sugar

[ shugər ]


  1. Any of a class of crystalline carbohydrates that are water-soluble, have a characteristic sweet taste, and are universally present in animals and plants. They are characterized by the many OH groups they contain. Sugars are monosaccharides or small oligosaccharides, and include sucrose, glucose, and lactose.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.