First Known Use: before 12th century
Dictionary
1tart
adjective \ˈtärt\
: having a sharp or sour taste
: having a sharp and unkind quality
Full Definition of TART
1
: agreeably sharp or acid to the taste <a tart apple>
2
: marked by a biting, acrimonious, or cutting quality <a tart rejoinder>
— tart·ish \ˈtär-tish\ adjective
— tart·ly adverb
— tart·ness noun
See tart defined for English-language learners
See tart defined for kids
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Origin of TART
Middle English, from Old English teart sharp, severe; akin to Middle High German traz spite
2tart
noun
: an open pie that usually has a sweet filling (such as fruit or custard)
: a woman who wears very sexy clothing and has sex with many men
Full Definition of TART
1
: a dish baked in a pastry shell : pie: as a : a small pie or pastry shell without a top containing jelly, custard, or fruit b : a small pie made of pastry folded over a filling
2
[earlier slang, girlfriend, probably short for jam tart, rhyming slang for sweetheart] : prostitute
See tart defined for English-language learners
Origin of TART
Middle English tarte, from Anglo-French
First Known Use: 14th century
Related to TART
- Synonyms
- bawd, call girl, cocotte, courtesan, drab, harlot, hooker, hustler, sex worker, streetwalker, strumpet, prostitute, whore
TARTISH Defined for Kids
1tart
adjective \ˈtärt\
tart·ertart·est
Definition of TART for Kids
1
: pleasantly sharp or sour to the taste <a tart apple>
2
: having an unkind quality <a tart manner>
— tart·ly adverb <“I haven't made up my mind,” said Marilla rather tartly. — Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea>
— tart·ness noun
2tart
noun
Definition of TART for Kids
: an often small pie usually with no top crust
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