# tart

> English word · Adjective · IPA /tɑɹt/ · frequency rank #17,975

## Definitions
1. Sharp to the taste; acid; sour.
2. High or too high in acidity.
3. Sharp; keen; severe.

## Etymology
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”).

## Easily confused with
- **TT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tt)
- **try** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-try)
- **tax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tax)
- **tri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tri)
- **tor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tor)
- **tit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tit)
- **tat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tat)
- **TNT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tnt)
- **tau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tau)
- **ter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-ter)
- **tot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tot)
- **tay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tay)
- **tre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tre)
- **tra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tra)
- **tru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tru)
- **tut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tut)
- **tet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tet)
- **TRP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-trp)
- **tur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-tur)
- **Taz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tart-vs-taz)

## Common misspellings (6)
`atrt`, `tarrt`, `tartt`, `tatr`, `trat`, `ttart`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tart