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sweet - 14 dictionary results

sweet

  [sweet] adjective, -er, -est, adverb, noun
Use sweet in a Sentence
–adjective
1. having the taste or flavor characteristic of sugar, honey, etc.
2. producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not bitter, sour, or salt.
3. not rancid or stale; fresh: This milk is still sweet.
4. not salt or salted: sweet butter.
5. pleasing to the ear; making a delicate, pleasant, or agreeable sound; musical.
6. pleasing or fresh to the smell; fragrant; perfumed.
7. pleasing or agreeable; delightful.
8. amiable; kind or gracious, as a person, action, etc.
9. dear; beloved; precious.
10. easily managed; done or effected without effort.
11. (of wine) not dry; containing unfermented, natural sugar.
12. (of a cocktail) made with a greater proportion of vermouth than usual.
13. sentimental, cloying, or unrealistic: a sweet painting of little kittens.
14. (of air) fresh; free from odor, staleness, excess humidity, noxious gases, etc.
15. free from acidity or sourness, as soil.
16. Chemistry.
a. devoid of corrosive or acidic substances.
b. (of fuel oil or gas) containing no sulfur compounds.
17. (of jazz or big band music) performed with a regular beat, moderate tempo, lack of improvisation, and an emphasis on warm tone and clearly outlined melody.
–adverb
18. in a sweet manner; sweetly.
–noun
19. a sweet flavor, smell, or sound; sweetness.
20. something that is sweet or causes or gives a sweet flavor, smell, or sound.
21. sweets, Informal.
a. candied sweet potatoes.
b. (in direct address) sweetheart.
22. sweets, pie, cake, candy, and other foods high in sugar content.
23. Chiefly British.
a. a piece of candy; sweetmeat or bonbon.
b. a sweet dish or dessert, as a pudding or tart.
24. something pleasant to the mind or feelings.
25. a beloved person.
26. (in direct address) darling; sweetheart.
—Idiom
27. sweet on, Informal. infatuated with; in love with: He's sweet on her.
Origin:
bef. 900; (adj. and adv.) ME swet(e), OE swēte (adj.); (n.) ME swet(e), deriv. of the adj.; c. OS swōti, OHG swuozi (G süss); akin to D zoet, ON sætr, Goth suts, Gk hēdýs sweet, L suādēre to recommend, suāvis pleasant

Related forms:
sweetly, adverb
sweetness, noun

Synonyms:
1. sugary. 5. melodious, mellifluous. 6. redolent, aromatic, scented. 8. winning, lovable, charming.

Sweet

  [sweet]
–noun
Henry, 1845–1912, English philologist and linguist.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To sweet
sweet   (swēt)   
adj.   sweet·er, sweet·est
  1. Having the taste of sugar or a substance containing or resembling sugar, as honey or saccharin.
    1. Containing or derived from sugar.
    2. Retaining some natural sugar; not dry: a sweet wine.
    3. Pleasing to the senses; agreeable: the sweet song of the lark; a sweet face.
    4. Pleasing to the mind or feelings; gratifying: sweet revenge.
    1. Pleasing to the senses; agreeable: the sweet song of the lark; a sweet face.
    2. Pleasing to the mind or feelings; gratifying: sweet revenge.
  4. Having a pleasing disposition; lovable: a sweet child.
  5. Kind; gracious: It was sweet of him to help out.
  6. Fragrant; perfumed: a sweet scent.
  7. Not saline or salted: sweet water; sweet butter.
  8. Not spoiled, sour, or decaying; fresh: sweet milk.
  9. Free of acid or acidity: sweet soil.
  10. Low in sulfur content: sweet fuel oil.
  11. Music Of, relating to, or being a form of jazz characterized by adherence to a melodic line and to a time signature.
  12. Used as an intensive: took his own sweet time to finish; earns a sweet million per year.
adv.  In a sweet manner; sweetly.
n.  
  1. Sweet taste or quality; sweetness.
  2. Something sweet to the taste.
  3. sweets
    1. Foods, such as candy, pastries, puddings, or preserves, that are high in sugar content.
    2. Informal Sweet potatoes: candied sweets.
    3. A sweet dish, such as pudding, served as dessert.
    4. A sweetmeat or confection.
  4. Chiefly British
    1. A sweet dish, such as pudding, served as dessert.
    2. A sweetmeat or confection.
  5. A dear or beloved person.
  6. Something pleasing to the mind or feelings.

[Middle English swete, from Old English swēte; see swād- in Indo-European roots.]
sweet'ly adv., sweet'ness n.
Sweet   (swēt)   
British phonetician and philologist. A founder of modern phonetics, he is known especially for his History of English Sounds (1874).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Main Entry:  sweet
Part of Speech:  adj
Definition:  great; excellent
Example:  We're going out to dinner? Sweet!
Etymology:  1958
Usage:  informal
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2009 Dictionary.com, LLC
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Language Translation for : sweet
Spanish: dulce,
German: süß,
Japanese: 甘い
More Translations »

Sweet

Sweet\, a. [Compar. Sweeter; superl. Sweetest.] [OE. swete, swote, sote, AS. sw[=e]te; akin to OFries. sw[=e]te, OS. sw[=o]ti, D. zoet, G. s["u]ss, OHG. suozi, Icel. s[ae]tr, s[oe]tr, Sw. s["o]t, Dan. s["o]d, Goth. suts, L. suavis, for suadvis, Gr. ?, Skr. sv[=a]du sweet, svad, sv[=a]d, to sweeten. [root]175. Cf. Assuage, Suave, Suasion.]

1. Having an agreeable taste or flavor such as that of sugar; saccharine; -- opposed to sour and bitter; as, a sweet beverage; sweet fruits; sweet oranges.

2. Pleasing to the smell; fragrant; redolent; balmy; as, a sweet rose; sweet odor; sweet incense.

The breath of these flowers is sweet to me. --Longfellow.

3. Pleasing to the ear; soft; melodious; harmonious; as, the sweet notes of a flute or an organ; sweet music; a sweet voice; a sweet singer.

To make his English sweet upon his tongue. --Chaucer.

A voice sweet, tremulous, but powerful. --Hawthorne.

4. Pleasing to the eye; beautiful; mild and attractive; fair; as, a sweet face; a sweet color or complexion.

Sweet interchange Of hill and valley, rivers, woods, and plains. --Milton.

5. Fresh; not salt or brackish; as, sweet water. --Bacon.

6. Not changed from a sound or wholesome state. Specifically: (a) Not sour; as, sweet milk or bread. (b) Not state; not putrescent or putrid; not rancid; as, sweet butter; sweet meat or fish.

7. Plaesing to the mind; mild; gentle; calm; amiable; winning; presuasive; as, sweet manners.

Canst thou bind the sweet influence of Pleiades? --Job xxxviii. 31.

Mildness and sweet reasonableness is the one established rule of Christian working. --M. Arnold.

Note: Sweet is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, sweet-blossomed, sweet-featured, sweet-smelling, sweet-tempered, sweet-toned, etc.

Sweet alyssum. (Bot.) See Alyssum.

Sweet apple. (Bot.) (a) Any apple of sweet flavor. (b) See Sweet-top.

Sweet bay. (Bot.) (a) The laurel (laurus nobilis). (b) Swamp sassafras.

Sweet calabash (Bot.), a plant of the genus Passiflora (P. maliformis) growing in the West Indies, and producing a roundish, edible fruit, the size of an apple.

Sweet cicely. (Bot.) (a) Either of the North American plants of the umbelliferous genus Osmorrhiza having aromatic roots and seeds, and white flowers. --Gray. (b) A plant of the genus Myrrhis (M. odorata) growing in England.

Sweet calamus, or Sweet cane. (Bot.) Same as Sweet flag, below.

Sweet Cistus (Bot.), an evergreen shrub (Cistus Ladanum) from which the gum ladanum is obtained.

Sweet clover. (Bot.) See Melilot.

Sweet coltsfoot (Bot.), a kind of butterbur (Petasites sagittata) found in Western North America.

Sweet corn (Bot.), a variety of the maize of a sweet taste. See the Note under Corn.

Sweet fern (Bot.), a small North American shrub (Comptonia, or Myrica, asplenifolia) having sweet-scented or aromatic leaves resembling fern leaves.

Sweet flag (Bot.), an endogenous plant (Acorus Calamus) having long flaglike leaves and a rootstock of a pungent aromatic taste. It is found in wet places in Europe and America. See Calamus, 2.

Sweet gale (Bot.), a shrub (Myrica Gale) having bitter fragrant leaves; -- also called sweet willow, and Dutch myrtle. See 5th Gale.

Sweet grass (Bot.), holy, or Seneca, grass.

Sweet gum (Bot.), an American tree (Liquidambar styraciflua). See Liquidambar.

Sweet herbs, fragrant herbs cultivated for culinary purposes.

Sweet John (Bot.), a variety of the sweet William.

Sweet leaf (Bot.), horse sugar. See under Horse.

Sweet marjoram. (Bot.) See Marjoram.

Sweet marten (Zo["o]l.), the pine marten.

Sweet maudlin (Bot.), a composite plant (Achillea Ageratum) allied to milfoil.

Sweet oil, olive oil.

Sweet pea. (Bot.) See under Pea.

Sweet potato. (Bot.) See under Potato.

Sweet rush (Bot.), sweet flag.

Sweet spirits of niter (Med. Chem.) See Spirit of nitrous ether, under Spirit.

Sweet sultan (Bot.), an annual composite plant (Centaurea moschata), also, the yellow-flowered (C. odorata); -- called also sultan flower.

Sweet tooth, an especial fondness for sweet things or for sweetmeats. [Colloq.]

Sweet William. (a) (Bot.) A species of pink (Dianthus barbatus) of many varieties. (b) (Zo["o]l.) The willow warbler. (c) (Zo["o]l.) The European goldfinch; -- called also sweet Billy. [Prov. Eng.]

Sweet willow (Bot.), sweet gale.

Sweet wine. See Dry wine, under Dry.

To be sweet on, to have a particular fondness for, or special interest in, as a young man for a young woman. [Colloq.] --Thackeray.

Syn: Sugary; saccharine; dulcet; luscious.

Sweet

Sweet\, n. 1. That which is sweet to the taste; -- used chiefly in the plural. Specifically: (a) Confectionery, sweetmeats, preserves, etc. (b) Home-made wines, cordials, metheglin, etc.

2. That which is sweet or pleasant in odor; a perfume. "A wilderness of sweets." --Milton.

3. That which is pleasing or grateful to the mind; as, the sweets of domestic life.

A little bitter mingled in our cup leaves no relish of the sweet. --Locke.

4. One who is dear to another; a darling; -- a term of endearment. "Wherefore frowns my sweet?" --B. Jonson.

Sweet

Sweet\, adv. Sweetly. --Shak.

Sweet

Sweet\, v. t. To sweeten. [Obs.] --Udall.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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sweet  (adj.)
O.E. swete "pleasing to the senses, mind or feelings," from P.Gmc. *swotijaz (cf. O.S. swoti, Swed. söt, Dan. sød, M.Du. soete, Du. zoet, O.H.G. swuozi, Ger. süß), from PIE base *swad- (Skt. svadus "sweet;" Gk. hedys "sweet, pleasant, agreeable," hedone "pleasure;" L. suavis "sweet," suadere "to advise," prop. "to make something pleasant to"). Sweetbread "pancreas used as food" is from 1565 (the -bread element may be from O.E. bræd "flesh"). To be sweet on someone is first recorded 1694. Sweet-talk (v.) dates from 1936 (in "Gone With the Wind"). Sweet sixteen first recorded 1826. Sweet dreams as a parting to one going to sleep is attested from 1908. Sweet and sour in cooking is from 1723, not originally of oriental food.

sweet  (n.)
c.1300, "something sweet to the taste," also "beloved one," from sweet (adj.); the meaning "candy drop" is 1851 (earlier sweetie, 1721).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: 1sweet
Pronunciation: 'swEt
Function: adjective
: being or inducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is typicallyinduced by disaccharides and is mediated especially by receptors in taste buds at the front of the tongue —compare BITTER,SALT 2, SOUR —sweet·ness noun

Main Entry: 2sweet
Function: noun
1 : something that is sweet to the taste; especially : a food (as a candy or preserve) having a highsugar content sweets>
2 : a sweet taste sensation
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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sweet

In addition to the idioms beginning with sweet, also see short and sweet; take the bitter with the sweet.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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