sweetheart deal
noun
plural sweetheart deals
chiefly US
: an unusually advantageous arrangement or agreement
If they wanted to leave, they could have done so before the stadium expansion and received a sweetheart deal from someplace else.—
Nick Canepa
Nick Canepa
especially
: one that is obtained through personal or business connections or influence
His original 606,302 investment—most of it borrowed from a bank where he was once a director—netted him a fortune of $18.4 million, and accusations that he had benefited from a sweetheart deal. —David Hume Kennerly
David Hume Kennerly The company also used its clout to cut through the logjam of carrier requirements that had stifled innovation in the phone industry for years, essentially forcing AT&T into a sweetheart deal that put Apple in the driver's seat. —Brian X. Chen
Brian X. Chen Examples of sweetheart deal in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But families of the crash victims have criticized previous agreements as sweetheart deals for Boeing, called for more accountability from the company and said its executives should stand trial.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 23 May 2025
That's easy in a campaign, but harder in the face of tariffs that will raise costs for millions of small businesses that sell toys, greeting cards, or party favors sourced internationally—while Big Businesses like Apple are handed sweetheart deals that evade the tariffs.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Apr. 2025
Politicians in these countries have quietly expressed revulsion at President Donald Trump’s apparent friendliness with Vladimir Putin and willingness to make sweetheart deals at the expense of Ukraine.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2025
What makes this even more of a sweetheart deal for Musk is the fact that X’s finances last year were mixed.
—John Hyatt, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sweetheart deal
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 23 May 2025
That's easy in a campaign, but harder in the face of tariffs that will raise costs for millions of small businesses that sell toys, greeting cards, or party favors sourced internationally—while Big Businesses like Apple are handed sweetheart deals that evade the tariffs.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Apr. 2025
Politicians in these countries have quietly expressed revulsion at President Donald Trump’s apparent friendliness with Vladimir Putin and willingness to make sweetheart deals at the expense of Ukraine.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2025
What makes this even more of a sweetheart deal for Musk is the fact that X’s finances last year were mixed.
—John Hyatt, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sweetheart deal
Cite this Entry
“Sweetheart deal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sweetheart%20deal. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share