Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: ODOURS

Language: Old English
Origin: swete

sweet

1 adjective
     
sweet1 S2 W3 comparative sweeter, superlative sweetest
1

taste

CT containing or having a taste like sugar [↪ sour, bitter, 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 British English 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.
Goodnight, Becky. Sweet dreams.
5

smells

CO having a pleasant smell [= fragrant]:
sweet-smelling flowers
the sickly sweet (=unpleasantly sweet) smell of rotting fruit
6

sounds

C pleasant to listen to [≠ harsh]:
She has a very sweet singing voice.
7

have a sweet tooth

CT 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 somebody 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

American English 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 British English 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 somebody

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 adverb

➔ home sweet home

at home1 (13)

➔ short and sweet

at short1 (1), sweetnessWORD FOCUS: nice WORD FOCUS: nice
person: lovely, pleasant, charming, sweet, adorable
thing/place/activity/time: lovely, pleasant, delightful

➔ See also niceWORD FOCUS: taste WORD FOCUS: taste
delicious/tasty tastes very good
disgusting tastes very bad
hot/spicy has a lot of spices
bland boring and with not very much taste
sweet has a lot of sugar
salty has a lot of salt
sour used about fruit that is not sweet
bitter used about coffee, chocolate, or medicine that is not at all sweettaste

➔ See also taste
Definition of sweet from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic ODOURS
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