Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense tarts, present participle tarting, past tense, past participle tarted
1. variable noun
A tart is a shallow pastry case with a filling of food, especially sweet food.
...jam tarts.
...a slice of home-made tart.
Synonyms: pie, pastry, pasty, tartlet More Synonyms of tart
2. adjective
If something such as fruit is tart, it has a sharp taste.
The blackberries were a bit too tart on their own, so we stewed them gently withsome apples.
Tart cherry juice can be found at health food stores.
3. adjective
A tart remark or way of speaking is sharp and unpleasant, often in a way that is rather cruel.
The words were more tart than she had intended.
Lyle, I'm sure, would have had a very tart comment to make about this new socialtrend.
Synonyms: cutting, biting, sharp, short More Synonyms of tart
tartlyadverb [usually ADVERB with verb]
'There are other patients on the ward, Lovell,' the staff nurse reminded her tartly.
4. countable noun
Tart is an insulting word for a woman who dresses or behaves in a way that suggests she wants to have sex with a lot of different people.
[informal, offensive, disapproval]
Phrasal verbs:
See tart up
More Synonyms of tart
tart in British English1
(tɑːt)
noun
a pastry case often having no top crust, with a sweet or savoury filling
Word origin
C14: from Old French tarte, of uncertain origin; compare Medieval Latin tarte
tart in British English2
(tɑːt)
adjective
1.
(of a flavour, food, etc) sour, acid, or astringent
2.
cutting, sharp, or caustic
a tart remark
Derived forms
tartish (ˈtartish)
adjective
tartishly (ˈtartishly)
adverb
tartly (ˈtartly)
adverb
tartness (ˈtartness)
noun
Word origin
Old English teart rough; related to Dutch tarten to defy, Middle High German traz defiance
tart in British English3
(tɑːt)
noun informal
1. derogatory
a promiscuous woman
2. old-fashioned
a prostitute
Derived forms
tarty (ˈtarty)
adjective
Word origin
C19: shortened from sweetheart
tart in American English1
(tɑrt)
adjective
1.
sharp in taste; sour; acid; acidulous
2.
sharp in meaning or implication; cutting
a tart answer
SIMILAR WORDS: sour
Derived forms
tartly (ˈtartly)
adverb
tartness (ˈtartness)
noun
Word origin
ME < OE teart < PGmc *trat- < IE base *der- > tear1
tart in American English2
(tɑrt)
noun
1.
a small shell of pastry filled with jam, jelly, etc.
2.
in England, a small pie filled with fruit or jam and often having a top crust
Word origin
ME tarte < OFr, prob. var. of tourte < LL(Ec) torta, twisted loaf < L tortus: see tort
tart in American English3
(tɑrt)
noun
Informal
a prostitute or any promiscuous woman
Idioms:
tart up
Derived forms
tarty (ˈtarty)
adjective
Word origin
< tart2, orig., slang term of endearment
Synonyms of 'tart'
pie, pastry, pasty, tartlet
sharp, acid, sour, bitter
cutting, biting, sharp, short
loose woman, slut, slag, harlot
More Synonyms of tart
In other languages
tart
British English: tart /tɑːt/ NOUN
A tart is a shallow pastry case with a filling of sweet food or fruit.
...jam tarts.
American English: tart
Arabic: تُورْتَة
Brazilian Portuguese: torta
Chinese: 果馅饼
Croatian: tortica
Czech: ovocný koláč
Danish: tærte
Dutch: taartje
European Spanish: tarta
Finnish: torttu
French: tarte
German: Obstkuchen
Greek: τάρτα
Italian: crostatina
Japanese: タルト
Korean: 타트
Norwegian: terte
Polish: tarta
European Portuguese: torta
Romanian: tartă
Russian: пирог
Latin American Spanish: pastel
Swedish: mördegstårta
Thai: ขนมพายไส้ต่างๆ
Turkish: turta
Ukrainian: тістечко з відкритою начинкою
Vietnamese: bánh táo
British English: tart ADJECTIVE
If something such as fruit is tart, it has a sharp taste.
The blackberries were a bit too tart on their own, so we stewed them gently with some apples.
American English: tart
Brazilian Portuguese: azedo
Chinese: 味道浓烈的水果等
European Spanish: ácido
French: aigre
German: säuerlich
Italian: aspro
Japanese: ピリッとする
Korean: 시큼한
European Portuguese: azedo
Latin American Spanish: ácido
All related terms of 'tart'
tart up
If someone tarts up a room or building, they try to improve its appearance, often with the result that it looks vulgar .
card tart
a credit-card holder who continually changes providers, transferring his or her balance to another provider whenever the agreed period of low interest on the prior loan is about to expire
curd tart
a tart with a sweet filling in which curd is the main ingredient
rate tart
a credit card holder , bank account holder, etc, who frequently and purposefully changes providers to take advantage of low interest rate offers intended to attract new customers
apple tart
a pastry case filled with apples , with or without pastry on top
butter tart
a kind of tart made with butter , brown sugar , and raisins
frock tart
a person who makes or designs costumes for films or television
apricot tart
a pastry case filled with apricots
Bakewell tart
an open tart having a pastry base and a layer of jam and filled with almond-flavoured sponge cake
custard tart
a small pastry case filled with egg custard
treacle tart
a tart made of pastry filled with syrup and lemon butter
raspberry tart
a fruit tart made with raspberries
Chinese translation of 'tart'
tart
(tɑːt)
n(c)
(= cake) 果馅(餡)饼(餅) (guǒxiànbǐng) (个(個), gè)
(Brit, inf!, = prostitute) 妓女 (jìnǚ) (个(個), gè)
adj
(= bitter) 酸的 (suān de)
(noun)
Definition
a pastry case, often having no top crust, with a sweet filling, such as jam or custard
a slice of home-made tart
Synonyms
pie
blueberry pie
pastry
high fat foods such as cakes and pastries
pasty
tartlet
patty
1 (adjective)
Definition
(of a flavour) sour or bitter
a slightly tart piece of candy
Synonyms
sharp
a colourless, almost odourless liquid with a sharp, sweetish taste
acid
This apple juice has gone off and is somewhat acid.
sour
The stewed apple was sour even with honey.
bitter
The leaves taste rather bitter.
pungent
The more herbs you use, the more pungent the sauce will be.
tangy
smoked salmon, tangy cheeses and oysters
astringent
piquant
a mixed salad with a piquant dressing
vinegary
acidulous
soils that are acidulous, salty or harsh
acerb
Opposites
sweet
,
sugary
,
honeyed
,
syrupy
,
toothsome
2 (adjective)
Definition
sharp and hurtful
The words were more tart than she had intended.
Synonyms
cutting
People make cutting remarks to help themselves feel superior to others.
biting
This was the most biting criticism made against her.
sharp
‘Don't criticize your mother,’ was his sharp reprimand.
short
wounding
wounding remarks about her appearance
nasty
He's only nasty to me when there's no-one around to see it.
harsh
He said many harsh and unkind things.
scathing
He then launched a scathing attack on previous leaders.
acrimonious
The acrimonious debate on the agenda ended indecisively.
barbed
barbed comments
hurtful
Her comments were very hurtful to Mrs Green's family.
caustic
He was well known for his abrasive wit and caustic comments.
astringent
vitriolic
trenchant
He was shattered by the trenchant criticism.
testy
mordant
He describes the situation with mordant wit.
snappish
mordacious
Opposites
kind
,
gentle
,
pleasant
,
delightful
,
agreeable
Phrasal verbs
See tart something up
See tart yourself up
Additional synonyms
in the sense of acid
Definition
sharp or sour in taste
This apple juice has gone off and is somewhat acid.
Synonyms
sour,
sharp,
tart,
pungent,
biting,
acidic,
acerbic,
acrid,
acetic,
vinegary,
acidulous,
acidulated,
vinegarish,
acerb
in the sense of acidulous
soils that are acidulous, salty or harsh
Synonyms
sour,
sharp,
acid,
bitter,
harsh,
tart,
acerbic,
acetic,
vinegary,
vinegarish,
acerb
in the sense of acrimonious
The acrimonious debate on the agenda ended indecisively.
Synonyms
bitter,
cutting,
biting,
sharp,
severe,
hostile,
crabbed,
sarcastic,
embittered,
caustic,
petulant,
spiteful,
churlish,
astringent,
vitriolic,
acerbic,
trenchant,
irascible,
testy,
censorious,
rancorous,
mordant,
peevish,
splenetic,
mordacious,
pungent,
tart
Nearby words of
tart
tariff
tarnish
tarry
tart
tart something up
tart yourself up
task
Related terms of
tart
tart something up
tart yourself up
Synonyms of 'tart'
tart
Explore 'tart' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of barbed
barbed comments
Synonyms
cutting,
pointed,
biting,
critical,
acid,
hostile,
nasty,
harsh,
savage,
brutal,
searing,
withering,
scathing,
unkind,
hurtful,
belittling,
sarcastic,
caustic,
scornful,
vitriolic,
trenchant,
acrid,
catty (informal),
mordant,
mordacious
in the sense of biting
Definition
sarcastic
This was the most biting criticism made against her.
Synonyms
sarcastic,
cutting,
sharp,
severe,
stinging,
withering,
scathing,
acrimonious,
incisive,
virulent,
caustic,
vitriolic,
trenchant,
mordant,
mordacious
in the sense of bitter
Definition
having an unpalatable harsh taste, as the peel of an orange
The leaves taste rather bitter.
Synonyms
sour,
biting,
sharp,
acid,
harsh,
unpleasant,
tart,
astringent,
acrid,
unsweetened,
vinegary,
acidulated,
acerb
in the sense of caustic
Definition
bitter and sarcastic
He was well known for his abrasive wit and caustic comments.
Synonyms
sarcastic,
biting,
keen,
cutting,
severe,
stinging,
scathing,
acrimonious,
pungent,
vitriolic,
trenchant,
mordant,
mordacious
in the sense of harsh
Definition
unkind and showing no understanding
He said many harsh and unkind things.
Synonyms
hard,
sharp,
severe,
bitter,
cruel,
stern,
unpleasant,
abusive,
unkind,
pitiless,
unfeeling
in the sense of hurtful
Her comments were very hurtful to Mrs Green's family.
Synonyms
unkind,
upsetting,
distressing,
mean,
cutting,
damaging,
wounding,
nasty,
cruel,
destructive,
harmful,
malicious,
mischievous,
detrimental,
pernicious (formal),
spiteful,
prejudicial,
injurious,
disadvantageous,
maleficent
in the sense of mordant
Definition
sarcastic or caustic
He describes the situation with mordant wit.
Synonyms
sarcastic,
cutting,
biting,
edged,
sharp,
acid,
harsh,
stinging,
scathing,
acrimonious,
pungent,
incisive,
caustic,
venomous,
astringent,
vitriolic,
acerbic,
trenchant,
waspish,
mordacious
in the sense of nasty
Definition
(of a person) spiteful or ill-natured
He's only nasty to me when there's no-one around to see it.
Synonyms
spiteful,
mean (informal),
offensive,
annoying,
vicious,
unpleasant,
abusive,
vile,
malicious,
bad-tempered,
despicable,
disagreeable
in the sense of pastry
Definition
an individual cake or pie
high fat foods such as cakes and pastries
Synonyms
tart,
Danish (pastry),
pasty,
tartlet
in the sense of piquant
Definition
having a spicy taste
a mixed salad with a piquant dressing
Synonyms
spicy,
biting,
sharp,
stinging,
tart,
savoury,
pungent,
tangy,
highly-seasoned,
peppery,
zesty,
with a kick (informal),
acerb
Additional synonyms
in the sense of pungent
Definition
having a strong sharp bitter smell or taste
The more herbs you use, the more pungent the sauce will be.
Synonyms
strong,
hot,
spicy,
seasoned,
sharp,
acid,
bitter,
stinging,
sour,
tart,
aromatic,
tangy,
acrid,
peppery,
piquant,
industrial-strength (humorous),
highly flavoured,
acerb
in the sense of scathing
Definition
harshly critical
He then launched a scathing attack on previous leaders.
Synonyms
critical,
cutting,
biting,
harsh,
savage,
brutal,
searing,
withering,
belittling,
sarcastic,
caustic,
scornful,
vitriolic,
trenchant,
mordant,
mordacious
in the sense of sour
Definition
having a sharp biting taste like the taste of lemon juice or vinegar