Sugar

/ˈʃʊɡə(ɹ)/ intj, name, noun, verb, slang

intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Sucrose in the form of small crystals, obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet and used to sweeten food and drink.
  • Grammar: sugar is listed as intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: saccharide, ambrosia, angel, artificial sweetener.
  • Useful contrasts: artificial sweetener, bitters, disclose.
  • Usage evidence: Sugar replaced honey as a sweetener.

How to use "sugar"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sugar" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sugar" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sugar" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sugar" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "sugar" is acting as intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "saccharide" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "sugar", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Sucrose in the form of small crystals, obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet and used to sweeten food and drink. uncountable

    "To a pound of gooseberries take a pound and a half of double-refined sugar. Clarify the sugar with water, a pint to a pound of sugar, and when the syrup is cold, put the gooseberries single in your preserving pan, put the syrup to them, and set them on a gentle fire."

  2. 2
    radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter S.
  3. 3
    a white crystalline carbohydrate used as a sweetener and preservative wordnet
  4. 4
    A specific variety of sugar. countable

    "The experience of sugar planters in Louisiana this year in holding their sugars in warehouse for future sales at better prices has revealed again, as it has done heretofore, the fact that the presence of moisture in the sugars is inimical to their maintaining their standard of quality"

  5. 5
    informal terms for money wordnet
Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    Any of various small carbohydrates that are used by organisms to store energy. countable

    "At the end of the second week there were less reducing sugars in the unpruned plants than in the previous week, but those in the pruned plants were the same."

  2. 7
    an essential structural component of living cells and source of energy for animals; includes simple sugars with small molecules as well as macromolecular substances; are classified according to the number of monosaccharide groups they contain wordnet
  3. 8
    A small serving of this substance (typically about one teaspoon), used to sweeten a drink. countable

    "He usually has his coffee white with one sugar."

  4. 9
    A term of endearment. countable

    "I'll be with you in a moment, sugar."

  5. 10
    Affection shown by kisses or kissing. slang, uncountable

    "Gimme some sugar, baby."

  6. 11
    Effeminacy in a male, often implying homosexuality. Southern, US, slang, uncountable

    "I think John has a little bit of sugar in him."

  7. 12
    Diabetes. informal, uncountable

    "One respondent said that he had been told by his doctor that he had 'sugar' and diabetes, thus affirming for him the distinctiveness of the two illnesses. The distinction made sense to some of them as the relationship between diabetes and 'sugar' seemed to relate to their experiences of the West Indies, where 'sugar' was believed to be rare and diabetes common."

  8. 13
    Anything resembling sugar in taste or appearance, especially in chemistry. countable, dated, uncountable

    "Sugar of lead (lead acetate) is a poisonous white crystalline substance with a sweet taste."

  9. 14
    Compliment or flattery used to disguise or render acceptable something obnoxious; honeyed or soothing words. countable, uncountable
  10. 15
    Heroin. US, slang, uncountable
  11. 16
    Money. US, dated, slang, uncountable
  12. 17
    Syntactic sugar. countable, uncountable

    "However, this bookkeeping is much less local syntax and sugar."

Verb
  1. 1
    To add sugar to; to sweeten with sugar. transitive

    "John heavily sugars his coffee."

  2. 2
    sweeten with sugar wordnet
  3. 3
    To make (something unpleasant) seem less so. transitive

    "She has a gift for sugaring what would otherwise be harsh words."

  4. 4
    In making maple sugar, to complete the process of boiling down the syrup till it is thick enough to crystallize; to approach or reach the state of granulation; with the preposition off. Canada, US, regional

    "To sugar off, I prefer using a kettle that will hold about half a. barrel; and boil over a brisk, steady fire, till on dropping some of the syrup into cold water it will break like glass, then dip it into wooden trays to cool, and when it is grained stir it briskly."

  5. 5
    To apply sugar to trees or plants in order to catch moths.

    "Some entomologists assert that it is useless to sugar when ivy is in bloom."

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    To rewrite (source code) using syntactic sugar. transitive

    "You can sugar the syntax of constants thus: […]"

  2. 7
    To compliment (a person). transitive
  3. 8
    To remove hair using a paste of sugar, water, and lemon juice.
Intj
  1. 1
    Minced oath of shit.

    "Oh, sugar!"

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
saccharideambrosiaangelartificial sweetenerbabebaby

Antonyms

artificial sweetenerbittersdisclosenoncarbohydrate

Example

"Sugar replaced honey as a sweetener."

Common questions

What does "sugar" mean?

Sucrose in the form of small crystals, obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet and used to sweeten food and drink.

What is a synonym for "sugar"?

Common synonyms include: saccharide, ambrosia, angel, artificial sweetener, babe, baby.

How do you use "sugar" in a sentence?

Sugar replaced honey as a sweetener.

How do you pronounce "sugar"?

Pronounced /ˈʃʊɡə(ɹ)/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱorkeh₂ Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćárkaraH Proto-Indo-Aryan *śárkaraH Sanskrit शर्करा (śárkarā) Gandhari 𐨭𐨐𐨪 (śakara)bor. Middle Persian 𐭱𐭪𐭥 (šakar)bor. Arabic سُكَّر (sukkar)bor. Old Italian zuccherobor. Old French çucrebor. Middle English sugre English sugar Inherited from Middle English sugre, borrowed from Old French çucre, borrowed from Old Italian zucchero, borrowed from Arabic سُكَّر (sukkar), borrowed from Middle Persian 𐭱𐭪𐭥 (šakar), borrowed from Gandhari 𐨭𐨐𐨪 (śakara), from Sanskrit शर्करा (śárkarā), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *śárkaraH, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćárkaraH, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱorkeh₂ (“gravel”). Akin to Ancient Greek κρόκη (krókē, “pebble”), whence the words crocodile and krokodil are derived. Doublet of jaggery, sucro-, crocodile, and krokodil. The verb is from Middle English sugren, from the noun.

Etymology 2

* As a Hungarian surname, from the noun sugár (“light ray”). * As a German and Jewish surname, semantic loan from German Zucker (“sugar”).

More for "sugar"

Synonyms

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