# sugar

Pronunciation: US say "SHUUG-ur" /ˈʃʊɡɚ/; UK say "SHUUG-uh" /ˈʃʊɡə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. A sweet crystalline substance made from sugar cane or sugar beet, used to sweeten food and drink; also, any particular kind of it, such as brown or powdered sugar.
   - Simple: The sweet white or brown grains you add to food and drinks, made from sugar cane or beets.
   - _The recipe calls for a cup of sugar and two eggs._
   - _Refineries turn raw cane into the white sugar sold in stores._
2. Any of various small carbohydrates that organisms use to store and release energy.
   - Simple: Any of the small sweet substances that plants and animals use to store and supply energy.
   - _Glucose and fructose are the most common sugars in ripe fruit._
   - _Each sugar has a distinct molecular structure and level of sweetness._
3. A single serving of the sweetener, typically about one teaspoon, used to sweeten a drink.
   - Simple: A small spoonful of sweetener added to a drink, usually about one teaspoon.
   - _She stirred two sugars into her morning espresso._
   - _I'll have a coffee with one sugar, please._
6. An affectionate name used to address a loved one.
   - Simple: A loving name for someone you care about, like a partner or child.
   - _Good morning, sugar, did you sleep well?_
   - _Come here, sugar, and give me a hug._
7. An informal name for diabetes, the condition marked by high blood sugar. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A casual word for diabetes, the illness where the body struggles to control blood sugar.
   - _Grandpa has sugar, so he passes on the pie at every family dinner._
   - _Ever since she found out she had sugar, Aunt Ruby carries snacks and checks her levels._
8. Flattery or honeyed words used to disguise or soften something objectionable.
   - Simple: Kind or flattering words used to hide something bad or make it easier to accept.
   - _The memo was pure sugar, written to make the cutbacks sound generous._
   - _Beneath all that sugar, the offer was a genuinely bad deal._
14. Affection shown through kisses or kissing. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Kisses given to show love or affection.
   - _He leaned in for some sugar before heading out the door._
   - _Give me a little sugar, she said, tapping her cheek._
15. Heroin, especially as referred to in street slang. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: Heroin, a strong and dangerous illegal drug.
17. An effeminate quality in a man, often taken to imply that he is homosexual. *(dialectal, Southern, US)*
   - Simple: A soft or feminine quality in a man, sometimes used to hint that he is gay.
   - _Back home, folks would lower their voices and say a boy like that had some sugar in his tank._
   - _In the small Georgia town where he grew up, any boy who liked to dance was said to have sugar in his tank._
18. A shortened form of blood sugar: the level of glucose in a person's blood, particularly as tested by someone who has diabetes. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The amount of sugar in your blood, which people with diabetes often check.
   - _Her sugar dropped halfway through the hike, so she stopped to eat a granola bar._
   - _The nurse asked whether his sugar had been running high since he started the new medication._

## Verb

4. To sweeten food or drink by adding the crystalline sweetener to it.
   - Simple: To add the sweet substance to food or drink to make it taste sweeter.
   - _If the strawberries are tart, sugar them and let them sit for twenty minutes before serving._
   - _He sugared his iced tea so heavily that his friends from up north could barely drink it._
5. To make something unpleasant seem more acceptable than it really is.
   - Simple: To make bad news or a hard truth seem nicer than it really is.
   - _Managers often sugar layoffs with talk of fresh opportunities._
   - _He sugared his criticism so heavily that the point got lost._
10. To remove unwanted hair by spreading on and pulling off a paste made from sugar, water, and lemon juice.
   - Simple: To remove body hair using a sticky paste made of sugar, water, and lemon juice.
   - _The esthetician sugared her upper lip in a few quick motions._
   - _They prefer to sugar rather than shave, since the results last longer._
12. In making maple sugar, to finish boiling the syrup down until it is thick enough to crystallize into granular sugar, usually expressed as 'sugar off.' *(dialectal, Canada, US)*
   - Simple: To boil maple syrup down until it gets thick enough to turn into solid sugar.
   - _The sugarmakers worked through the night to sugar off the last batch of syrup._
   - _When the syrup sheets off the spoon, it is nearly time to sugar off._
13. To compliment or flatter a person with pleasing words.
   - Simple: To say nice or flattering things to someone, often to please them.

## Interjection

11. A mild exclamation used in place of a coarse swear word to express annoyance or dismay.
   - Simple: A polite word shouted instead of a rude one when something goes wrong.
   - _Sugar! I left the oven on all afternoon._
   - _Sugar, that's the third time I've missed the bus today._

## Noun

9. Any substance that resembles sugar in taste or appearance, especially a chemical compound so described. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Something that looks or tastes like sugar, especially a chemical of that kind.
16. Money, especially cash, in dated American slang. *(dated, US)*
   - Simple: An old slang word for money, especially cash.
   - _Back then a man with plenty of sugar could buy a whole block._
   - _She tucked her sugar away for a rainy day._

## Other meanings

- (noun) Features of a programming language that let code be written more concisely or read more easily, without adding any capability the language lacked.
- (verb) To rewrite source code using syntactic sugar, so that it reads more concisely while behaving exactly as it did before.
- (verb) To apply a sugary mixture to tree trunks or plants in order to attract and trap moths.

## Origin

Sugar came through Middle English 'sugre' from Old French 'çucre' and Old Italian 'zucchero', which was borrowed from Arabic 'sukkar'. This in turn came from Middle Persian via Gandhari from Sanskrit शर्करा (śárkarā), tracing back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'gravel'. It is a doublet of jaggery, and the verb comes from the noun.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sugar (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).