1 C1 neutral
To reduce the sweetness or sugar concentration of a liquid or food by diluting it.
"The lemonade was too sweet, so she sugared it down by adding more water."
separable
sugar down
C1 neutral separable transitive
To reduce or dilute the sugar content of something, or to make a sugary mixture less concentrated.
In plain English
To make something less sweet by adding more liquid or reducing the sugar in it.
What does "sugar down" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 C1 neutral
In maple syrup production, to let the sugar content of boiling sap decrease or to bring a syrup batch to a lower sugar concentration.
"If you sugar down the batch too much, you'll end up with a thinner syrup that won't keep as long."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To bring sugar down (in concentration or amount).
Actually means
To make something less sweet by adding more liquid or reducing the sugar in it.
Usage tip
Primarily used in cooking, food production, and maple syrup processing contexts. Not widely used in everyday speech; more technical or regional (especially in North American rural/farming communities).
Words that pair with "sugar down"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
syrup mixture solution recipe batch concentrate
How to conjugate "sugar down"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
sugar down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
sugars down
he/she/it
Past simple
sugared down
yesterday
Past participle
sugared down
have + pp
-ing form
sugaring down
continuous
Hear "sugar down" in the wild
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Keep exploring
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