tart
/tɑɹt/adjective, noun, verb
tart is spelled T-A-R-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, tart means “Sharp to the taste; acid; sour” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tart?
| Letters | 4: T-A-R-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 17,813th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tart?
Tart appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tart?
- US /tɑɹt/
- UK /tɑːt/
Tart has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-tart.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tart?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tart from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of tart
- tarter comparative
- tartest superlative
- tarts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- tarting participle, present
- tarted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tart mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Sharp to the taste; acid; sour.
I ate a very tart apple.
- 2
High or too high in acidity.
- 3
Sharp; keen; severe.
He gave me a very tart reply.
noun
- 1
A type of small open pie, or piece of pastry, now typically containing jelly (US) / jam (UK) or conserve, or sometimes other fillings (chocolate, custard, egg, butter, historically even meat or other savory fillings).
- 2
A melt (block of wax for use in a tart burner).
- 3
UKslangA prostitute.
- 4
derogatoryslangAny woman with loose sexual morals.
verb
- 1
To practice prostitution.
- 2
To practice promiscuous sex.
- 3
To dress garishly, ostentatiously, whorishly, or sluttily.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tart in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | amer, mordant , tarte, tartelette , putain, pute |
| German | sauer, herb , Tarte, Törtchen , säuerlich , scharf |
| Portuguese | azedo , torta, tarte , prostituta , vadia |
| Spanish | acerbo , tarta, tartaleta , puta , guarra, pelandusca |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tart come from?
From Middle English tart, from Old English teart (“sharp, rough, severe”), from Proto-West Germanic *tart, from Proto-Germanic *tartaz (“rough, sharp, tearing”), from Proto-Germanic *teraną (“to tear”), from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to flay, split, cleave”). Related to Scots tairt (“tart; tartness”), Dutch tarten (“to defy, challenge, mock”), German trotzen (“to defy, brave, mock”), perhaps Albanian thartë (“sour, acid, sharp”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).