DateableGlossary
Sugar dating glossary
Every word you will meet in sugar dating, A to Z, in plain English. 72 terms, from sugar daddy and allowance to splenda, salt and POT, each linked to a guide that goes further.
A
Age gap
A difference in age between partners. Many arrangements have one, and both people are adults: every Dateable member is 18 or over.
Allowance
Regular support one partner gives the other inside an arrangement, often monthly. It pays for the life around the relationship, never for intimacy. Agree the amount before you meet, in plain words.
Arrangement
A relationship where both people say what they want and what they offer at the start. Arrangements vary widely: one US study of 48 women found seven kinds, from sugar friendships to pragmatic love.1
B
Benefactor
An older word for the generous partner in an arrangement. Most people now say sugar daddy, sugar mommy or generous partner.
Block
Stops a member contacting you. On Dateable, a member you block no longer sees you in search, on the Board or in messages.
Boundaries
The limits you set on time, contact, photos and intimacy. State them early and plainly: “I don't share my home address until we've met a few times.” A good partner respects them without a debate.
C
Catfish
Someone using photos or a life that is not theirs. Signs: they say they love you before you have met, and always have an excuse to skip a video call.2
Chemistry
The spark that makes you want a second date. You can agree terms in a message; chemistry shows up only in person.
Companionship
Time, attention and good company: dinners, events, travel, long conversations. For many arrangements, companionship is the whole point.
Consent
A free, clear yes to each sexual act, which either person can withdraw at any time. An allowance or a gift never buys it. Affirmative consent became law in New South Wales on 1 June 2022.3
D
Discretion
Keeping an arrangement private: no full names, workplaces or tagged photos until you trust each other. Both sides deserve it.
Dress code
What an event or venue expects you to wear, from smart casual to black tie. Ask before the date: “What's the dress code for Saturday?”
Drama-free
A profile favourite meaning easy company: no jealousy scenes, no games. People in one US study described sugar dating itself as drama-free.4
E
Expectations
What each person wants: how often you meet, how you keep in touch, what support looks like. Dateable exists so you can say them at the start.
F
Face photo
A clear photo of your face. On Dateable your first public photo must show one.
Fake sugar daddy
A scammer posing as a generous partner who offers to pay your bills or debts, then asks you for a small payment first.5 Real generosity never starts with you sending money.
First date
Your first meeting in person. Keep it short and public: a drink in a hotel bar, not the room.
Freestyle
Wanting the company of an arrangement without the support agreed at the start. A freestyler talks about generosity and never shows any. If the terms keep shifting, you can leave.
G
Ghosting
Ending contact by disappearing, with no message. Most young adults in one study had both ghosted someone and been ghosted.6 A short message is kinder: “I've enjoyed our time, but I'm stepping back.”
Gift
Something given freely: flowers, a handbag, a course, a weekend away. In Australia you generally do not declare gifts given out of love as income, but gifts received as part of a business-like activity may be taxable.7 General information, not advice.
I
Image-based abuse
Sharing, or threatening to share, an intimate image of someone without their consent. In Australia, report it to eSafety, which can help remove the content.9
J
Jealousy
Feeling possessive of a partner, and hard to avoid when an arrangement is not exclusive. Name it early and agree what you both expect.
L
LDR
A long-distance relationship or arrangement: you live in different cities and meet on planned visits.
LGBTQ+ arrangements
Arrangements between people of any gender and orientation. Most research so far looks only at heterosexual arrangements.10
Lifestyle
Insider shorthand for sugar dating: “Are you new to the lifestyle?”
Love bombing
Heavy flattery and declarations of love very early. Scammers declare strong feelings quickly to build trust, then ask for money.11
Our own words
The words on Dateable
On Dateable the two sides have kinder names, and the Board has a language of its own. Here is what each one means.
Attractive member
Dateable's word for the side that brings time and company: sugar babies, any gender. Free to join.
Generous member
Dateable's word for the side that offers support: sugar daddies and sugar mommies, any gender.
The Board
Dateable's page of invitations. Post the date, members apply, you accept the one you want.
Invitation
A date posted on the Board: the place, the time and what the host offers. Verified members apply with a note.
Guest
The member a host accepts. A guest confirms within 48 hours, or the place goes back to the host to offer again.
Hosted
An offer on the Board meaning the host covers the occasion: tickets, dinner, the car home.
Verified
The member passed a live selfie check, holding a pose the app picks, and a reviewer compared it with their photos. It confirms the person matches the photos; it is not an ID check.
Private album
Up to 12 photos only the members you choose can see. Grant and revoke access one member at a time.
Credits
Tokens other dating sites sell to open or read messages. Dateable has none: messages are free on both sides.
M
M&G
Meet and greet: a short first meeting in public to see whether you click. Treat it as an interview both ways.
Male sugar baby
A man on the receiving side of an arrangement, with a sugar mommy or a sugar daddy.
Mentorship
Advice, introductions and career help from a partner with more experience. Some arrangements centre on it.
Money mule
Someone who receives and moves money for another person, often a scammer. Romance scammers talk victims into it, and moving money for crime can lead to criminal charges.12
Mutually beneficial
Both people gain something they value. People in one US study described sugar dating this way.4
N
Net worth band
An optional range a generous member can show instead of a figure. Dateable shows bands for income and net worth, never exact numbers.
NSA
No strings attached: no exclusivity and no long-term plans. It describes commitment, not what happens on a date, and it never makes intimacy part of a deal.
O
Off-platform
Moving the conversation to WhatsApp, Telegram or text. Pressure to move quickly is a scam warning sign.11 Stay on Dateable until you have met.
Ongoing
An arrangement that repeats, such as a standing Thursday dinner, as opposed to a single date.
P
Pause
Hides your profile without deleting it. A paused Dateable account keeps its data until you come back.
Plus one
The person you bring to a wedding, gala or work dinner. Hosts post plus-one invitations on the Board.
POT
Short for potential: a possible sugar daddy, sugar mommy or sugar baby you are talking to but have not agreed terms with. “I'm meeting a new POT on Thursday.”
Proof of loyalty
A fee a fake sugar daddy asks for before they “pay your bills”. Then they disappear.5 It is always a scam.
R
S
Safety call
A friend who knows where you are and rings at a set time. Before a first meeting, tell someone where you are going and share your location with them.13
Salt
The opposite of sugar: a sugar daddy or sugar mommy who promises generosity and gives little or nothing.
Sextortion
Blackmail with intimate images: pay, or the pictures get shared. Do not pay and do not send more; stop contact and report it.9
Splenda
A fake sweetener: someone who presents as a sugar daddy or sugar mommy without the means they claim. They talk big about money, then delay.
Spoiling
Generosity beyond the allowance: a surprise dinner, a weekend away, the gift you mentioned once.
Sugar
The support and generosity in an arrangement, and the prefix for this whole vocabulary.
Sugar baby
The partner who receives support, gifts or mentoring in an arrangement. Any gender, always an adult. Dateable calls this side attractive members.
Sugar bowl
The sugar dating world as a whole: “They've been in the sugar bowl for years.”
Sugar daddy
A man who offers generosity, support or mentoring to a partner in an arrangement. The phrase dates from 1926, for an older man who spends lavishly on a woman many years younger.14
Sugar dating
Dating where both people say at the start what they want and what they offer. A review of 27 studies grouped people's reasons into three themes: financial, experiential and social.10
Sugar mommy
A woman who offers generosity, support or mentoring to a partner in an arrangement.
Sugar relationship
Another name for an arrangement, common in research.
T
Terms
What you agree: how often you meet, the support, exclusivity, how you keep in touch. “Before we meet, can we talk terms?”
Travel companion
A partner who joins trips, usually with travel covered. Travel is its own kind of invitation on the Board.
V
Vanilla
Ordinary dating, with nothing stated at the start. “I've tried vanilla dating. I prefer knowing where I stand.”
W
Whale
Slang for a very wealthy generous partner. Treat big money promises from a stranger with care: the fake sugar daddy scam starts with one.5
Wishlist
A list of gifts someone would like. Share it once you have met and trust each other, never as an opening message.
No term matches. Try a shorter word, or tell us the word and we will add it.
Sources
- Scull, M. T., “It's Its Own Thing”: A Typology of Interpersonal Sugar Relationship Scripts, 2019.
- Get Cyber Safe (Government of Canada), Spot the signs of a catfish on dating platforms, 2023.
- NSW Communities and Justice, Affirmative consent becomes law in NSW, 2022.
- Upadhyay, S., Sugaring: Understanding the World of Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies, 2021.
- WA ScamNet (Government of Western Australia, Consumer Protection), Sugar baby scam, 2026.
- LeFebvre, L. E., Allen, M., Rasner, R. D., Garstad, S., Wilms, A., & Parrish, C., Ghosting in Emerging Adults' Romantic Relationships: The Digital Dissolution Disappearance Strategy, 2019.
- Australian Taxation Office, Amounts you do not include as income, 2026.
- Federal Trade Commission, Avoiding and Reporting Gift Card Scams, 2023.
- eSafety Commissioner, Image-based abuse (including revenge porn, sextortion and nude image blackmail), 2026.
- Stenersen, M. R., Meinerding, M., Fricke, I., & Umrani, A., Sugar coated connections: A scoping review of sugar dating, 2026.
- Scamwatch (ACCC), Relationship scams, 2026.
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Customer Advisory: Beware Offers to Receive and Forward Money, 2023.
- eSafety Commissioner, Online dating: how to stay safe, 2026.
- Harper, D. (Online Etymology Dictionary), sugar-daddy, 2026.
General information, not advice.
Now you know the words. Say what you want, and meet someone who wants it too.