Savory

//ˈseɪ.və.ɹi// adj, name, noun

adj, name, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A savory snack. US

    "On Friday the pastry chef Pichet Ong will open his own cafe, with sweets and savories served at tables and a counter."

  2. 2
    Any of several Mediterranean herbs, of the genus Satureja, grown as culinary flavourings. US, countable, uncountable

    "There are some who advise taking the noxious herb savory; in my judgment it is poison."

  3. 3
    an aromatic or spicy dish served at the end of dinner or as an hors d'oeuvre wordnet
  4. 4
    The leaves of these plants used as a flavouring. US, countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    either of two aromatic herbs of the mint family wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    dwarf aromatic shrub of Mediterranean regions wordnet
  2. 7
    any of several aromatic herbs or subshrubs of the genus Satureja having spikes of flowers attractive to bees wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Tasty, attractive to the palate. US

    "The fine restaurant presented an array of savory dishes; each was delicious."

  2. 2
    Either salty or spicy, but not sweet. US

    "The mushrooms, meat, bread, rice, peanuts and potatoes were all good savory foods."

  3. 3
    Umami. US

    "The savory rabbit soup contrasted well with the sweet cucumber sandwiches with jam."

  4. 4
    Morally or ethically acceptable. US, figuratively

    "Readers are to be warned that quotations in this chapter contain some not so savory language."

Adjective
  1. 1
    having a pleasant taste wordnet
  2. 2
    morally wholesome or acceptable wordnet
  3. 3
    having an agreeably pungent taste wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
agreeableambrosiaambrosialappetizerappetizingaromatic

Example

More examples

"Italian wedding soup is a savory broth with green vegetables and little meatballs. Sometimes it also contains a variety of small pasta."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From the Middle English savory, savourie, from Old French savouré, from Old French savourer, from Late Latin sapōrāre, from Latin sapor (“taste, flavour”), from sapiō, sapere (“taste of, have a flavour of”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English saverey, possibly from Old English sæþerie, from Latin satureia, influenced by or via Old French savereie.

Related phrases

blue savorysummer savorywinter savory

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.