taste
to try or test the flavor or quality of (something) by taking some into the mouth: to taste food.
to eat or drink a little of: She barely tasted her dinner.
to eat or drink (often used in negative constructions): He hadn't tasted food for three days.
to perceive or distinguish the flavor of: to taste the wine in a sauce.
to have or get experience, especially a slight experience: these young men who had only begun to taste life.
to perceive in any way.
Archaic. to enjoy or appreciate.
Obsolete.
to examine by touch; feel.
to test or try.
to try the flavor or quality of something.
to eat or drink a little (usually followed by of): She tasted of the cake.
to perceive or distinguish the flavor of anything.
to have experience of something, however limited or slight.
to have a particular flavor (often followed by of): The coffee tastes bitter. The bread tastes of mold.
to smack or savor (usually followed by of): The story tastes of treason.
the act of tasting food or drink.
the sense by which the flavor or savor of things is perceived when they are brought into contact with the tongue.
the sensation or quality as perceived by this sense; flavor.
a small quantity tasted; a morsel, bit, or sip.
a relish, liking, or partiality for something: a taste for music.
the sense of what is fitting, harmonious, or beautiful; the perception and enjoyment of what constitutes excellence in the fine arts, literature, fashion, etc.
the sense of what is seemly, polite, tactful, etc., to say or do in a given social situation.
one's personal attitude or reaction toward an aesthetic phenomenon or social situation, regarded as either good or bad.
the ideas of aesthetic excellence or of aesthetically valid forms prevailing in a culture or personal to an individual: a sample of Victorian taste; I consulted only my own taste in decorating this room.
the formal idiom preferred by a certain artist or culture; style; manner: a façade in the Baroque taste.
a slight experience or a sample of something: a taste of adventure.
a feeling or sensation resulting from an experience: a compromise that left a bad taste in her mouth.
Obsolete. test or trial.
Idioms about taste
taste blood. blood (def. 24).
to one's taste, agreeable or pleasing to one: He couldn't find any ties that were completely to his taste.
Origin of taste
1synonym study For taste
word story For taste
Tasten was borrowed from Old French taster “to touch, try,” from an unrecorded Vulgar Latin verb tastāre (or taxtāre or taxitāre ), which is most likely an alteration of a frequentative verb formed from tangere “to touch, tap, taste (food), lay hands on, affect (with emotion), seize, defraud.” (A frequentative verb is one that expresses repetition of an action).
Though the meaning “to try or examine by touch; to feel” is now obsolete, the current figurative meaning “to have a slight experience of something” has developed from that literal use. And of course the primary meaning “to try the flavor of something” is merely referring to another one of our five senses that is stimulated by food taken into the mouth.
Other words for taste
Opposites for taste
Other words from taste
- tast·a·ble, taste·a·ble, adjective
- pre·taste, noun, verb (used with object), pre·tast·ed, pre·tast·ing.
- re·taste, verb, re·tast·ed, re·tast·ing.
- un·tast·a·ble, adjective
- un·taste·a·ble, adjective
- un·tast·ed, adjective
- un·tast·ing, adjective
Words Nearby taste
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use taste in a sentence
Last year the company did a taste test for employees, investors, and a group of chefs and restaurateurs.
This Startup Is Growing Sushi-Grade Salmon From Cells in a Lab | Vanessa Bates Ramirez | September 16, 2020 | Singularity HubOlivia Ghaussy got a taste of how quickly anyone can build a following on social media.
What’s Oracle? TikTok users react to proposed Oracle deal | Danielle Abril | September 15, 2020 | FortuneThey’re oversized, so you’ll never wish you had more fabric, and they come in a few neutral shades to generally fit most tastes.
Rodríguez said on the 14th day of her quarantine she began to lose her sense of taste, suffered from severe headaches and palpitations.
Cuban doctor contracts coronavirus in ICE custody | Yariel Valdés González | September 9, 2020 | Washington BladeWhat we didn’t know was how many thousands of you would phone and write asking us to bring back the classic taste of original Coca-Cola.
America’s Hidden Duopoly (Ep. 356 Rebroadcast) | Stephen J. Dubner | September 3, 2020 | Freakonomics
The taste of metal cutlery after years of plastic can also taste funny.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside | Justin Rohrlich | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTWhisk in the half and half and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole | Carla Hall | December 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo the uninitiated, this might smack of poor taste and inappropriate timing.
In One Corner of Syria, Christmas Spirit Somehow Manages to Survive | Peter Schwartzstein | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe correspondent does a stand-up next to a burning pile of heroin and gets a taste of its effect.
BBC Reporter Gets High On The Job | Jack Holmes, The Daily Beast Video | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFor Paul, the thrill of breakfast with the Reverend, may be giving way to the taste of burnt toast.
She was flushed and felt intoxicated with the sound of her own voice and the unaccustomed taste of candor.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinIn connection with this step the practice of melodies is useful, if one has musical taste.
Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge SouthwickShe fancied there was a sympathy of thought and taste between them, in which fancy she was mistaken.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinA world that has known five years of fighting has lost its taste for the honest drudgery of work.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockI had no idea of going back to Benton right away, and sitting around Fort Walsh waiting for something to turn up was not my taste.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
British Dictionary definitions for taste
/ (teɪst) /
the sense by which the qualities and flavour of a substance are distinguished by the taste buds
the sensation experienced by means of the taste buds
the act of tasting
a small amount eaten, drunk, or tried on the tongue
a brief experience of something: a taste of the whip
a preference or liking for something; inclination: to have a taste for danger
the ability to make discerning judgments about aesthetic, artistic, and intellectual matters; discrimination: to have taste
judgment of aesthetic or social matters according to a generally accepted standard: bad taste
discretion; delicacy: that remark lacks taste
obsolete the act of testing
to distinguish the taste of (a substance) by means of the taste buds
(usually tr) to take a small amount of (a food, liquid, etc) into the mouth, esp in order to test the quality: to taste the wine
(often foll by of) to have a specific flavour or taste: the tea tastes of soap; this apple tastes sour
(when intr, usually foll by of) to have an experience of (something): to taste success
(tr) an archaic word for enjoy
(tr) obsolete to test by touching
Origin of taste
1Derived forms of taste
- tastable, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with taste
see acquired taste; dose (taste) of one's own medicine; leave a bad taste in one's mouth; no accounting for tastes; poor taste.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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