Definition of 'taste'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense tastes
, present participle tasting
, past tense, past participle tasted
1. uncountable noun
Taste is one of the five senses that people have. When you have food or drink in your mouth,
your sense of taste makes it possible for you to recognize what it is.
2. countable noun
3. singular noun
If you have a taste of some food or drink, you try a small amount of it in order to see what the flavour
is like.
4. verb [no cont]
If food or drink tastes of something, it has that particular flavour, which you notice when you eat or drink it.
5. verb
If you taste some food or drink, you eat or drink a small amount of it in order to try its flavour,
for example to see if you like it or not.
6. verb [no passive]
If you can taste something that you are eating or drinking, you are aware of its flavour.
7. singular noun
If you have a taste of a particular way of life or activity, you have a brief experience of it.
8. verb [no passive]
If you taste something such as a way of life or a pleasure, you experience it for a short period of time.
9. singular noun
If you have a taste for something, you have a liking or preference for it.
10. uncountable noun
A person's taste is their choice in the things that they like or buy, for example their clothes, possessions, or music.
If you say that someone has good taste, you mean that you approve of their choices. If you say that they have poor taste, you disapprove of their choices.
11.
12.
See to taste
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
You may also like
Word Frequency
taste in British English
noun
2.
the sensation experienced by means of the taste buds
3.
the act of tasting
7.
the ability to make discerning judgments about aesthetic, artistic, and intellectual matters; discrimination
to have taste
8.
judgment of aesthetic or social matters according to a generally accepted standard
bad taste
10. obsolete
the act of testing
verb
11.
to distinguish the taste of (a substance) by means of the taste buds
12. (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
13. (often foll by of)
to have a specific flavour or taste
the tea tastes of soap
this apple tastes sour
14. (when intr, usually foll by of)
to have an experience of (something)
to taste success
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
tasteable (ˈtasteable) or tastable (ˈtastable) adjective
Word origin
C13: from Old French taster, ultimately from Latin taxāre to appraise
Word Frequency
taste in American English
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈtasted or ˈtasting
1. Obsolete
to test by touching
2.
to test the flavor of by putting a little in one's mouth
4.
to eat or drink, esp. a small amount of
5.
to receive the sensation of, as for the first time; experience; have
to have tasted freedom at last
verb intransitive
7.
to discern or recognize flavors by the sense of taste; have the sense of taste
8.
to eat or drink a small amount (of)
9.
to have the specific taste or flavor
sometimes with of the milk tastes sour; the salad tastes of garlic
10.
to have a sensation, limited experience, or anticipating sense (of something)
noun
12.
that one of the five senses that is stimulated by contact of a substance with the taste buds and is capable of distinguishing basically among sweet, sour, salt, and bitter: the flavor of any specific substance is usually
recognized by its combined taste, smell, and texture
13.
the quality of a thing that is perceived through the sense of taste; flavor; savor
14.
a small amount put into the mouth to test the flavor
15.
the distinguishing flavor of a substance
a chocolate taste
18.
a.
the ability to notice, appreciate, and judge what is beautiful, appropriate, or harmonious, or what is excellent in art, music, decoration, clothing, etc.
b.
a specific preference; predilection
a taste for red ties
c.
an attitude or a style reflecting such ability or preferences on the part of a group of people of a particular time
and place
19.
a liking; inclination; bent
to have no taste for business
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME tasten < OFr taster, to handle, touch, taste < VL *tastare, prob. < *taxitare, freq. of L taxare, to feel, touch sharply, judge of, freq. of tangere: see tactWord Frequency
taste in American English
(teist) (verb tasted, tasting)
transitive verb
1.
to try or test the flavor or quality of (something) by taking some into the mouth
to taste food
2.
to eat or drink a little of
She barely tasted her dinner
4.
to perceive or distinguish the flavor of
to taste the wine in a sauce
5.
to have or get experience, esp. a slight experience
these young men who had only begun to taste life
6.
to perceive in any way
intransitive verb
10.
to try the flavor or quality of something
11. (usually fol. by of)
to eat or drink a little
She tasted of the cake
12.
to perceive or distinguish the flavor of anything
13.
to have experience of something, however limited or slight
14. (often fol. by of)
to have a particular flavor
The coffee tastes bitter
The bread tastes of mold
noun
SYNONYMS 1. savor. 18. taste, flavor, savor refer to a quality that is perceived when a substance is placed upon the tongue.
taste is the general word: the taste of roast beef. flavor is a characteristic taste, usually of a pleasing kind, and as of some ingredient
put into the food: lemon flavor. savor, much less common than taste or flavor, implies pleasing scent as well as taste or flavor, and connotes enjoyment in tasting:
The sauce has an excellent savor. 20. fondness, disposition, appreciation, predisposition. 21. discernment, perception, judgment.ANTONYMS 20. antipathy.16.
the act of tasting food or drink
17.
the sense by which the flavor or savor of things is perceived when they are brought
into contact with the tongue
18.
the sensation or quality as perceived by this sense; flavor
21.
the sense of what is fitting, harmonious, or beautiful; the perception and enjoyment of what constitutes excellence in the fine arts, literature, fashion, etc
23.
one's personal attitude or reaction toward an aesthetic phenomenon or social situation, regarded as either good or bad
24.
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
25.
a façade in the Baroque taste
26.
a slight experience or a sample of something
a taste of adventure
27.
a feeling or sensation resulting from an experience
a compromise that left a bad taste in her mouth
28. obsolete
test or trial
29. See to one's taste
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
tastable or tasteable adjective
Word origin
[1250–1300; (v.) ME tasten to touch, taste ‹ OF taster to touch, explore by touching (MF: to touch, taste); c. It tastare, Pr, OSp tastar ‹ ?; (n.) ME tast sense of touch, a trying, tasting ‹ OF, deriv. of taster]Word Frequency
taste in Hospitality
(teɪst)
Word forms: (present) tastes, (past) tasted, (perfect) tasted, (progressive) tasting
verb
(Hospitality (hotel): Food and drink, cooking)
If you taste some food or drink, you eat or drink a small amount of it in order to try its flavor,
for example, to see if you like it or not.
Taste the food as you cook it and adjust the flavorings if necessary.
Invite the customer to taste the wine before you pour it.
Taste the soup before you add any more salt.
Collins COBUILD Key Words for Hospitality. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Examples of 'taste' in a sentence
taste
These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content that does not reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company HarperCollins.
We welcome feedback: report an example sentence to the Collins team. Read more…
Quotations
Taste is the enemy of creativeness
There's no accounting for tastes
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
One man's meat is another man's poison
More idioms containing
taste
Trends of
taste
View usage for:
Source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
In other languages
taste
British English: taste
/teɪst/ NOUN
sense Your sense of taste is your ability to recognize the flavour of things with your tongue.
...an excellent sense of taste.
- American English: taste /ˈteɪst/
- Arabic: ذَوْق
- Brazilian Portuguese: gosto
- Chinese: 味道
- Croatian: okus
- Czech: chuť
- Danish: smag
- Dutch: smaak
- European Spanish: gusto sabor
- Finnish: maku
- French: goût
- German: Geschmack
- Greek: γεύση
- Italian: gusto
- Japanese: 味
- Korean: 맛
- Norwegian: smak
- Polish: smak
- European Portuguese: gosto
- Romanian: gust
- Russian: вкус
- Latin American Spanish: gusto sabor
- Swedish: smak
- Thai: รสชาติ
- Turkish: tat
- Ukrainian: смак
- Vietnamese: vị nếm
British English: taste
/teɪst/ VERB
If food or drink tastes of something, it has that particular flavour.
The tea tasted of lemon.
- American English: taste /ˈteɪst/
- Arabic: يَتَذَوَّقُ
- Brazilian Portuguese: saber
- Chinese: 品尝
- Croatian: imati okus
- Czech: chutnat
- Danish: smage
- Dutch: proeven
- European Spanish: saber
- Finnish: maistaa
- French: avoir le goût de
- German: schmecken
- Greek: γεύομαι
- Italian: assaggiare
- Japanese: 味をみる
- Korean: 맛보다
- Norwegian: smake
- Polish: skosztować
- European Portuguese: saber
- Romanian: a avea gust de
- Russian: пробовать
- Latin American Spanish: degustar
- Swedish: smaka
- Thai: มีรสชาติ
- Turkish: tatmak
- Ukrainian: мати смак
- Vietnamese: có vị
British English: taste
NOUN /teɪst/
choice A person's taste is their choice in the things that they like or buy, for example, their clothes, possessions, or music.
His taste in clothes is extremely good.
Browse alphabetically
taste
Related terms of
taste
Source
Definition of taste from the Collins English Dictionary
Read about the team of authors behind Collins Dictionaries.
Quick word challenge
Quiz Review
Question: 1
-
Score: 0 / 5
PETS
Drag the correct answer into the box.
rabbit
guinea pig
hamster
rat
PETS
Drag the correct answer into the box.
ferret
parrot
mouse
goldfish
PETS
Drag the correct answer into the box.
rat
goldfish
hamster
cat
Your score:
Word of the day
Malmö
a port in S Sweden , on the Sound: part of Denmark until 1658; industrial centre. Pop: 268 971 (2004 est)
Latest Word Submissions
Intellectiquette
May 06, 2024
Diaper Donny
May 06, 2024
Printerager
May 05, 2024
malinformation
May 04, 2024
Collins English Dictionary Apps
Download our English Dictionary apps - available for both iOS and Android.
Read more
Collins Dictionaries for Schools
Our new online dictionaries for schools provide a safe and appropriate environment for children. And best of all it's ad free, so sign up now and start using at home or in the classroom.
Read more
Word lists
We have almost 200 lists of words from topics as varied as types of butterflies, jackets, currencies, vegetables and knots!
Amaze your friends with your new-found knowledge!
Read more
Quick word challenge
Quiz Review
Question: 1
-
Score: 0 / 5
FRUIT
Drag the correct answer into the box.
apricot
grapefruit
mango
blackberry
FRUIT
Drag the correct answer into the box.
grape
passion fruit
redcurrant
grapefruit
FRUIT
Drag the correct answer into the box.
plum
gooseberry
blackberry
redcurrant
Your score:
Learning English: Days of the week
Learn how to discuss what happens on different days of the week, whether you want to make plans for the day or talk about weekly routines.
Read more
Learning English: Going shopping
Discover some useful English expressions to use while you're out at the shops in this week's Learning English blog.
Read more
Sting-Nettle Day
We're taking a closer look at the intriguing expressions and customs that have grown up around one of the most versatile plants out there - the stinging nettle.
Read more
Learning English: Saying goodbye
Learn informal ways to say goodbye in British English - from 'Goodbye' to 'See ya!' with examples and tips for everyday use.
Read more
Collins English Dictionary Apps
Download our English Dictionary apps - available for both iOS and Android.
Read more
Collins Dictionaries for Schools
Our new online dictionaries for schools provide a safe and appropriate environment for children. And best of all it's ad free, so sign up now and start using at home or in the classroom.
Read more
Word lists
We have almost 200 lists of words from topics as varied as types of butterflies, jackets, currencies, vegetables and knots!
Amaze your friends with your new-found knowledge!
Read more