sugar

American  

[shoog-er] / ˈʃʊg ər /

noun

1. a sweet, crystalline substance, C 1 2 H 2 2 O 1 1 , obtained chiefly from the juice of the sugarcane and the sugar beet, and present in sorghum, maple sap, etc.: used extensively as an ingredient and flavoring of certain foods and as a fermenting agent in the manufacture of certain alcoholic beverages; sucrose.

2. Chemistry. a member of the same class of carbohydrates, as lactose, glucose, or fructose.

3. (sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address, as to a child or a romantic partner (sometimes offensive when used to strangers, casual acquaintances, subordinates, etc., especially by a male to a female).

4. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter S.

5. Slang. money.

6. Slang. LSD

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verb (used with object)

1. to cover, sprinkle, mix, or sweeten with sugar.

2. to make agreeable.

verb (used without object)

1. to form sugar or sugar crystals.

2. to make maple sugar.

verb phrase

1. sugar off (in making maple sugar) to complete the boiling down of the syrup in preparation for granulation.

sugar ¹ British  

/ ˈʃʊɡə /

noun

1. Also called: sucrose.   saccharose.  a white crystalline sweet carbohydrate, a disaccharide, found in many plants and extracted from sugar cane and sugar beet: it is used esp as a sweetening agent in food and drinks. Formula: C 12 H 22 O 11

2. any of a class of simple water-soluble carbohydrates, such as sucrose, lactose, and fructose

3. informal a term of affection, esp for one's sweetheart

4. rare a slang word for money

5. a slang name for LSD

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verb

1. (tr) to add sugar to; make sweet

2. (tr) to cover or sprinkle with sugar

3. (intr) to produce sugar

4. to make something unpleasant more agreeable by adding something pleasant

   the government stopped wage increases but sugared the pill by reducing taxes

Sugar ² British  

/ ˈʃʊɡə /

noun

1. Alan ( Michael ). Baron. born 1947, British electronics entrepreneur; chairman of Amstrad (1968–2008); noted for his BBC series The Apprentice (from 2005)

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sugar Scientific  

/ shg′ər /

1. Any of a class of crystalline carbohydrates that are water-soluble, have a characteristic sweet taste, and are universally present in animals and plants. They are characterized by the many OH groups they contain. Sugars are monosaccharides or small oligosaccharides, and include sucrose, glucose, and lactose.

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Other Word Forms

• nonsugar noun
• sugar-like adjective
• sugarless adjective
• sugarlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of sugar

1250–1300; Middle English sugre, sucre (noun) < Middle French sucre < Medieval Latin succārum < Italian zucchero < Arabic sukkar; obscurely akin to Persian shakar, Greek sákcharon ( sacchar- )

Example Sentences

Danny had never had tea before, but he watched Glory fill her cup with tea, and then add milk and cubes of sugar.

From Literature

This is what I eat for breakfast every single day: hot rolled oats with raisins and milk, no sugar.

From Literature

When boiled longer, it reduces into jaggery, a mineral-rich palm sugar with a lower glycaemic index than the commonly available white cane sugar.

From Barron's

Plant-based syrup, such as glucose syrup derived from sugar cane, can be half the price of genuine honey, or even less.

From BBC

They exposed the mineral to compounds commonly found in soil, including amino acids, plant acids, sugars and ribonucleotides.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• carbohydrate