sweetheart

A2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈswitˌhɑɹt/ UK /ˈswiːtˌhɑːt/ See IPA manual

Freq #1360

Meanings

1

noun
A person you love, especially a girlfriend or boyfriend.

John married his high-school sweetheart in 1981.
2

noun
A loving name you call someone you care about.

Goodnight, sweetheart, see you in the morning.
3

noun
A very kind and likeable person.

She is such a sweetheart; she never complains when I'm late.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person you love,... steady

2 noun · a loving name you call... babe

More babberbabybabycakesbaebubbabully buttercup cabbage chickabiddy chickadee chuck cupcake

Word family

Forms sweethearts

Related forms child friend lover sweetsweet-heartedsweetie

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Cold hands, warm heart; dirty feet, no sweetheart

Etymology

From Middle English swete heorte, swete hert (term of endearment); equivalent to sweet + heart.

swete heorte,swete hert Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# sweetheart

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈswitˌhɑɹt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈswiːtˌhɑːt/
**Frequency rank:** 1360

## Meanings
1. A person you love, especially a girlfriend or boyfriend.
2. A loving name you call someone you care about.
3. A very kind and likeable person.

## Examples
- John married his high-school sweetheart in 1981.
- Goodnight, sweetheart, see you in the morning.
- She is such a sweetheart; she never complains when I'm late.

## Synonyms
- babber
- baby
- babycakes
- bae
- bubba
- bully
- buttercup
- cabbage
- chickabiddy
- chickadee
- chuck
- cupcake

## Related Forms
- child
- friend
- lover
- sweet
- sweet-hearted
- sweetie

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: swete heorte,swete hert

## Etymology
From Middle English swete heorte, swete hert (term of endearment); equivalent to sweet + heart.

## AI Etymology
Sweetheart is from Middle English swete heorte, swete hert (term of endearment); equivalent to sweet + heart. In present-day use, it can mean a person you love, especially a girlfriend or boyfriend, or a loving name you call someone you care about.

## Topics
- People & Society

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