Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - sweet

(sweeter, sweetest, sweets) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Sweet food and drink contains a lot of sugar. ...a mug of sweet tea... If the sauce seems too sweet, add a dash of red wine vinegar. ADJ • sweetness Florida oranges have a natural sweetness. N-UNCOUNT 2. Sweets are small sweet things such as toffees, chocolates, and mints. (BRIT; in AM, use candy) N-COUNT 3. A sweet is something sweet, such as fruit or a pudding, that you eat at the end of a meal, especially in a restaurant. (BRIT; in AM, use dessert) The sweet was a mousse flavoured with whisky. = dessert N-VAR 4. A sweet smell is a pleasant one, for example the smell of a flower. She’d baked some bread which made the air smell sweet. ADJ 5. If you describe something such as air or water as sweet, you mean that it smells or tastes pleasantly fresh and clean. I gulped a breath of sweet air. ADJ 6. A sweet sound is pleasant, smooth, and gentle. Her voice was as soft and sweet as a young girl’s. ...the sweet sounds of Mozart. ADJ • sweetly He sang much more sweetly than he has before. ADV: usu ADV with v 7. If you describe something as sweet, you mean that it gives you great pleasure and satisfaction. (WRITTEN) There are few things quite as sweet as revenge. ? bitter ADJ 8. If you describe someone as sweet, you mean that they are pleasant, kind, and gentle towards other people. How sweet of you to think of me! ADJ • sweetly I just smiled sweetly and said no. ADV: usu ADV with v 9. If you describe a small person or thing as sweet, you mean that they are attractive in a simple or unsophisticated way. (INFORMAL) ...a sweet little baby girl... The house was really sweet. = cute ADJ 10. see also sweetly, sweetness 11. a sweet tooth: see tooth