sweet

sweet¹ W3S2 [swi:t] adj comparative sweeter superlative sweetest

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1¦(taste)¦

2¦(character)¦

3¦(children/small things)¦

4¦(thoughts/emotions)¦

5¦(smells)¦

6¦(sounds)¦

7 have a sweet tooth

8¦(water/air)¦

9 keep somebody sweet

10 in your own sweet way/time

11 a sweet deal

12 sweet FA

13 sweet nothings

14 be sweet on somebody

15 Sweet!

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[: Old English; Origin: swete]

1.) ¦(TASTE)¦

containing or having a taste like sugar

→↑sour, bitter ↑bitter, dry ↑dry

▪ This tea is too sweet.

▪ sweet juicy peaches

▪ sweet wine

2.) ¦(CHARACTER)¦

kind, gentle, and friendly

▪ a sweet smile

▪ How sweet of you to remember my birthday!

→↑sweet-tempered

3.) ¦(CHILDREN/SMALL THINGS)¦

especially BrE looking pretty and attractive

= ↑cute

▪ Your little boy looks very sweet in his new coat.

4.) ¦(THOUGHTS/EMOTIONS)¦

making you feel pleased, happy, and satisfied

▪ Revenge is sweet.

▪ the sweet smell of success

▪ the sweet taste of victory

▪ Goodnight, Becky. Sweet dreams.

5.) ¦(SMELLS)¦

having a pleasant smell

= ↑fragrant

▪ sweet-smelling flowers

▪ the sickly sweet (=unpleasantly sweet) smell of rotting fruit

6.) ¦(SOUNDS)¦

pleasant to listen to

≠ ↑harsh

▪ She has a very sweet singing voice.

7.) have a sweet tooth

to like things that taste of sugar

8.) ¦(WATER/AIR)¦

if you describe water or air as sweet, you mean that it is fresh and clean

≠ ↑stale

▪ She hurried to the door and took great gulps of the sweet air.

9.) keep sb sweet informal

to behave in a pleasant, friendly way towards someone, because you want them to help you later

▪ I'm trying to keep Mum sweet so that she'll lend me the car.

10.) in your own sweet way/time

if you do something in your own sweet way, you do it in exactly the way that you want to or when you want to, without considering what other people say or think

▪ You can't just go on in your own sweet way; we have to do this together.

11.) a sweet deal

AmE a business or financial deal in which you get an advantage, pay a low price etc

▪ I got a sweet deal on the car.

12.) sweet FA also sweet Fanny Adams

BrE informal nothing at all - used when someone wants to avoid saying a swear word directly

▪ 'How much did they pay you for that job?' 'Sweet FA!'

13.) sweet nothings

things that lovers say to each other

▪ a couple whispering sweet nothings to each other

14.) be sweet on sb

old-fashioned to be very attracted to or in love with someone

15.) Sweet!

spoken informal used to say that you think that something is very good

▪ 'I got four tickets to the concert.' 'Sweet!'

>sweetly adv

→home sweet home at ↑home¹ (13)

→short and sweet at ↑short¹ (1), ↑sweetness

sweet ²

sweet² S2 n

1.) BrE

a small piece of sweet food made of sugar or chocolate

American Equivalent: candy

▪ Eating sweets is bad for your teeth.

▪ a sweet shop

▪ a packet of boiled sweets (=hard sweets that taste of fruit)

2.) [U and C] BrE

sweet food served after the meat and vegetables part of a meal

= ↑dessert

▪ Would you like a sweet, or some cheese and biscuits?

3.) (my) sweet

old-fashioned used when speaking to someone you love

▪ Don't cry, my sweet.