noun
sweet tooth
sweet TOOTH
Sweet tooth (noun) means a strong liking for sugary food, especially cakes, chocolate and puddings. Example: “I've got a terrible sweet tooth — I can't walk past a bakery.”
noun
1
A strong liking for sugary food, especially cakes, chocolate and puddings.
"I've got a terrible sweet tooth — I can't walk past a bakery."
"He never had much of a sweet tooth, so we bought him cheese instead of cake."
How to use sweet tooth
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA love of sugary food.
When to use it
Informal but universally understood; fine in any casual writing.
Memory tip
It is always singular and always used with have or got — never "I am sweet tooth".
Easily confused with
savoury tooth
sugar craving
Common pairings
have a sweet tooth
satisfy your sweet tooth
a real sweet tooth
bit of a sweet tooth
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I've got a terrible _____ — I can't walk past a bakery.
Synonyms
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sugar craving
fondness for sweets
Rhymes for sweet tooth
See all rhymes for sweet tooth →Frequently asked questions
Is sweet tooth a real tooth?
No. It is an idiom: having "a sweet tooth" simply means loving sugary food. There is no such tooth, and the phrase has no medical meaning.
What is the plural of sweet tooth?
There is no natural plural, because each person has only one figurative sweet tooth. If you need to talk about several people, say "they all have a sweet tooth" rather than "sweet teeth", which is only ever used as a joke.
How do you use sweet tooth in a sentence?
It almost always follows "have" or "got": "She has a sweet tooth", "I've got a bit of a sweet tooth". You can soften or strengthen it with a modifier — a slight sweet tooth, a serious sweet tooth.
What is the meaning of sweet tooth?
"sweet tooth" (noun) means a strong liking for sugary food, especially cakes, chocolate and puddings.
