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Glite Dictionary
sugar bomb

sugar bomb

1 3.6
A food or drink that has a lot of sugar and tastes very sweet
  • noun
  • /ˈʃʊɡər bɑm/
  • Informal
translation icon : bomba de azúcar

Examples

  • If I am going to give my kids a sugar bomb, I would rather feed my kids a couple of fresh-baked Timbits.

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  • Many popular desserts are often considered sugar bombs because they contain so much sugar.

  • Avoid limiting your diet with sugar bombs like candy and processed snacks to maintain good health.

  • I realized that the energy drink I had was a total sugar bomb after checking its ingredient list.

How Sugary

sugar bomb
  • Informal
1 3.6
sugary snack
1 1.0

Surface Forms

sugar bomb singular
sugar bombs plural

Morphology

sugar + bomb

The sense 'a food or drink with a very high amount of sugar' can be inferred by combining 'sugar' with a metaphorical use of 'bomb' (i.e. something explosive/abundant), so the overall meaning is predictable from the parts. However, this relies on recognizing a figurative intensifier use of 'bomb' rather than a literal composition, so the relation is partially transparent but not fully literal or conventional for all learners.

Etymology

The noun sugar bomb may come from the image of sugar and bomb together: imagine a small food that gives a sudden, big 'explosion' of sweetness in your mouth. That's why people call a food or drink a sugar bomb when it is 'very sweet' or has 'too much sugar'.