sugar and sugar substitutes

I. sug‧ar1 S2 W3 /ˈʃʊɡə $ -ər/ noun
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: çucre, from Medieval Latin zuccarum, from Arabic sukkar, from Persian shakar, from Sanskrit sarkara]
1. [uncountable] a sweet white or brown substance that is obtained from plants and used to make food and drinks sweet:
   • Do you take sugar in your coffee?
2. [countable] British English the amount of sugar that a small spoon can hold:
   • How many sugars do you want in your tea?
3. [countable] technical one of several sweet substances formed in plants
4. spoken used to address someone you like very much
     • • •

COLLOCATIONS■ phrases

▪ a teaspoon/spoonful of sugar • The drink contains seven teaspoons of sugar per can.
▪ a lump of sugar (also a sugar lump) (=a small block of sugar) • He put three lumps of sugar in his coffee.

■ verbs

   ▪ take sugar (=have sugar in your tea or coffee) • ‘Do you take sugar?’ ‘No, thank you.’
   ▪ sprinkle something with sugar • Sprinkle the cake with sugar.
   ▪ sugar dissolves (=becomes part of a liquid) • Stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

sugar

sugar [sugar sugars sugared sugaring] noun, verb, exclamation [ˈʃʊɡə(r)] [ˈʃʊɡər]

noun

1. uncountable a sweet substance, often in the form of white or brown crystals, made from the juices of various plants, used in cooking or to make tea, coffee, etc. sweeter

• a sugar plantation/refinery/bowl

• This juice contains no added sugar.

• Do you take sugar (= have it in your tea, coffee, etc.)?

see also brown sugar, cane sugar, caster sugar, granulated sugar, icing sugar

2. countable the amount of sugar that a small spoon can hold or that is contained in a small cube, added to tea, coffee, etc

• How many sugars do you take in coffee?

3. countable, usually plural (technical) any of various sweet substances that are found naturally in plants, fruit, etc

• fruit sugars

• a person's blood sugar level (= the amount of glucose in their blood)

4. uncountable (informal, especially NAmE) a way of addressing sb that you like or love

• See you later, sugar.

Word Origin:

Middle English: from Old French sukere, from Italian zucchero, probably via medieval Latin from Arabic sukkar.

Example Bank:

• Add 1 cup of white sugar and boil until dissolved.

• Add one cup of soft brown sugar.

• Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar.

• Do you take sugar in your tea?

• Fructose is a fruit sugar.

• Fruit juices contain natural sugars.

• He stirred another spoonful of sugar into his tea.

• Most junk food is high in sugar.

• a high sugar intake

• apple juice with no added sugar

• simple sugars, such as glucose

• to raise blood sugar levels

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

sugar

sugar /ˈʃʊg.əʳ/ US /-ɚ/
noun
1 [C or U] a sweet substance which is obtained especially from the plants sugar cane and sugar beet and used to sweeten food and drinks:
I don't take sugar in my coffee, thanks.
How many sugars (= spoonfuls or lumps of sugar) do you take in your tea?

2 [C] SPECIALIZED A sugar is any of several types of simple carbohydrate that dissolves in water:
Glucose and lactose are sugars.

3 [as form of address] MAINLY US an affectionate way of addressing someone that you know:
Hi, sugar, did you have a good day at school?

sugar /ˈʃʊg.əʳ/ US /-ɚ/
exclamation
POLITE WORD FOR shit, used when something annoying happens:
Oh sugar, I've just spilt coffee all down my jacket!

sugar /ˈʃʊg.əʳ/ US /-ɚ/
verb [T]
to put sugar in something:
Oh, I forgot to sugar your coffee.

sugary /ˈʃʊg.ər.i/ US /-ɚ-/
adjective
1 containing sugar:
all those sugary snacks that kids eat

2 DISAPPROVING too good or kind or expressing feelings of love in a way that is not sincere:
It's that sugary smile of his that I can't bear - it makes me want to puke!

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

sugar

/ʃʊgə(r)/
(sugars, sugaring, sugared)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

1.
Sugar is a sweet substance that is used to make food and drinks sweet. It is usually in the form of small white or brown crystals.
...bags of sugar...
Ice cream is high in fat and sugar.
N-UNCOUNT
see also caster sugar, confectioners’ sugar, demerara sugar, granulated sugar, icing sugar

2.
If someone has one sugar in their tea or coffee, they have one small spoon of sugar or one sugar lump in it.
How many sugars do you take?
...a mug of tea with two sugars.
N-COUNT

3.
If you sugar food or drink, you add sugar to it.
He sat down and sugared and stirred his coffee.
VERB: V n

4.
Sugars are substances that occur naturally in food. When you eat them, the body converts them into energy.
Plants produce sugars and starch to provide themselves with energy.
N-COUNT: usu pl

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

¹sug·ar /ˈʃʊgɚ/ noun, pl -ars
1 a [noncount] : a sweet substance usually in the form of white or brown crystals or white powder that comes from plants and is used to make foods sweeter
• Would you pass the sugar, please?
• Do you take sugar in your coffee?
• a lump/cube/packet of sugar
- see also brown sugar, cane sugar, confectioners' sugar, maple sugar, powdered sugar
b [count] : the amount of sugar in one spoonful, lump, packet, etc.
• Coffee with two sugars and milk, please.
2 [count] technical : any one of various substances that are found in plants and that your body uses or stores for energy - usually plural
• Everyone's body metabolizes sugars differently.
• Simple sugars are easier to digest than complex sugars.
3 [noncount] informal : the amount of sugar present in a person's blood at a particular time
• Her sugar (level) is very high.
- called also blood sugar,
4 chiefly US informal
- used to address someone you like or love
• “Hey, sugar [=honey], how are you doing?”