A girl about to taste some pumpkin pie.
- Taste is the acting of eating or drinking, the sense of noticing flavors in food or drink, or a liking for something.
- An example of a taste is a sampling of soup, a taste of soup.
- An example of a taste is the sense controlled by the buds on the tongue, the taste buds.
- An example of a taste is an interest in and appreciation of good books, a taste for good books.
- Taste is defined as to try a food or drink or to notice the flavor of something.
- An example of to taste is to sample a slice of pumpkin pie.
- An example of to taste is to notice red pepper in a complex sauce.
transitive verbtast′ed, tast′ing
- Obs. to test by touching
- to test the flavor of by putting a little in one's mouth
- to detect or distinguish the flavor of by the sense of taste: to taste sage in a dressing
- to eat or drink, esp. a small amount of
- to receive the sensation of, as for the first time; experience; have: to have tasted freedom at last
- Archaic to appreciate; like
Origin of tasteMiddle English tasten from Old French taster, to handle, touch, taste from Vulgar Latin an unverified form tastare, probably from an unverified form taxitare, frequentative of Classical Latin taxare, to feel, touch sharply, judge of, frequentative of tangere: see tact
- to discern or recognize flavors by the sense of taste; have the sense of taste
- to eat or drink a small amount (of)
- to have the specific taste or flavor: sometimes with of: the milk tastes sour; the salad tastes of garlic
- to have a sensation, limited experience, or anticipating sense (of something)
- a test; trial
- the act of tasting
- 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
- the quality of a thing that is perceived through the sense of taste; flavor; savor
- a small amount put into the mouth to test the flavor
- the distinguishing flavor of a substance: a chocolaty taste
- a slight experience of something; sample: to get a taste of another's anger
- a small amount; bit; trace; suggestion; touch
- the ability to notice, appreciate, and judge what is beautiful, appropriate, or harmonious, or what is excellent in art, music, decoration, clothing, etc.
- a specific preference; partiality; predilection: a taste for red ties
- an attitude or a style reflecting such ability or preferences on the part of a group of people of a particular time and place
- a liking; inclination; fondness; bent: to have no taste for business
Origin of tasteME < OFr tast < the v.
in (good, poor, etc.) taste
to one's taste
- pleasing to one
- so as to please one
verbtast·ed, tast·ing, tastes
- To distinguish the flavor of by taking into the mouth.
- To eat or drink a small quantity of.
- To partake of, especially for the first time; experience: prisoners finally tasting freedom.
- Archaic To appreciate or enjoy.
- To distinguish flavors in the mouth.
- To have a distinct flavor: The stew tastes salty.
- To eat or drink a small amount.
- To have experience or enjoyment; partake: tasted of the life of the very rich.
- a. The sense that distinguishes the sweet, sour, salty, and bitter qualities of dissolved substances in contact with the taste buds on the tongue.b. This sense in combination with the senses of smell and touch, which together receive a sensation of a substance in the mouth.
- a. The sensation of sweet, sour, salty, or bitter qualities produced by a substance placed in the mouth.b. The unified sensation produced by any of these qualities plus a distinct smell and texture; flavor.c. A distinctive perception as if by the sense of taste: an experience that left a bad taste in my mouth.
- The act of tasting.
- A small quantity eaten or tasted.
- A limited or first experience; a sample: “Thousands entered the war, got just a taste of it, and then stepped out” ( Mark Twain )
- A personal preference or liking: a taste for adventure; a play that was not to my taste.
- The ability to recognize and appreciate what is beautiful, excellent, or appropriate: has good taste in clothes.
- The sense of what is proper, seemly, or least likely to give offense in a given social situation: a remark made in bad taste.
- Obsolete The act of testing; trial.
Origin of tasteMiddle English tasten to touch, taste from Old French taster from Vulgar Latin tastāre probably alteration of Latin taxāre probably frequentative of tangere to touch ; see tag- in Indo-European roots.
(countable and uncountable, plural tastes)
- One of the sensations produced by the tongue in response to certain chemicals .
- (countable and uncountable) A person's implicit set of preferences, especially esthetic, though also culinary, sartorial, etc. .
- Dr. Parker has good taste in wine.
- (uncountable, figuratively) A small amount of experience with something that gives a sense of its quality as a whole.
(third-person singular simple present tastes, present participle tasting, simple past and past participle tasted)
- To sample the flavor of something orally.
- (intransitive) To have a taste; to excite a particular sensation by which flavour is distinguished.
- The chicken tasted great, but the milk tasted like garlic.
- To experience.
- I tasted in her arms the delights of paradise.
- They had not yet tasted the sweetness of freedom.
- To take sparingly.
- To try by eating a little; to eat a small quantity of.
From Middle English tasten, from Old French taster from assumed Vulgar Latin *taxitÄre, a new iterative of Latin taxÄre (“to touch sharply"), from tangere (“to touch"). Replaced native Middle English smaken, smakien (“to taste") (from Old English smacian (“to taste")), Middle English smecchen (“to taste, smack") (from Old English smeccan (“to taste")), Middle English buriÈen (“to taste") (from Old English byrigan, birian (“to taste")).