sweet spot

noun

plural sweet spots

1

sports : the area around the center of mass of a bat, a racket, or the head of a club that is the most effective part with which to hit a ball

If the bat connects near its sweet spot … it vibrates very little, much as a tennis racket feels solid if you hit the ball on the racket's sweet spot.

—Sharon Begley

The shape of the clubhead has a pronounced effect on [golf] shots that are not hit out of the sweet spot of the club …

—Steen Winther

2

: an ideal or most favorable location, level, area, or combination of factors for a particular activity or purpose

Many doctors have concluded that there is something of a sweet spot on the age-education-experience continuum. They seek out clinicians who are no more than 10 years out of residency, old enough to have some mileage, young enough to be up to speed.

—Nancy Gibbs et al.

To seafood men, Fulton is the jewel of the Atlantic coast, the sweet spot on the seaboard, and the best fish from Maine to Florida rolls into the markets in refrigerated trucks.

—Jonathan Gold

"We are considering a lot of options with the site," says Zach Nelson, executive vice president of marketing. "I think we are right in the sweet spot of what's required to make e-business happen."

—Daniel Roth

The winery in Rutherford, best known for its loamy Cabernet Sauvignon, has a sweet spot of 8 acres for Chardonnay, which has produced spectacular wines.

—James Laube

Examples of sweet spot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As the years rolled by and the company felt around for its sweet spot, inching only slowly toward profitability, much of the fashion world moved on as the next new thing inevitably came to the fore. —Evan Clark, WWD, 28 Feb. 2025

The sweet spot is after a key insight is introduced but before the discussion shifts away from it. —Benjamin Laker, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025

Denver players also created their looks with the space the Lakers conceded to prevent Jokic from catching the ball or getting it in his sweet spots. —Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 23 Feb. 2025

And yet, this particular pick might hit the sweet spot for a trade. —Jonas Siegel, The Athletic, 22 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for sweet spot

• allot
• barat
• begot
• besought
• bethought
• bloodshot
• boycott
• buckshot
• crackpot
• croat
• culottes
• dashpot