What does "taste" mean?
One of the sensations produced by the tongue in response to certain chemicals; the quality of giving this sensation.
Taste
/teɪst/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One of the sensations produced by the tongue in response to certain chemicals; the quality of giving this sensation.
- Grammar: taste is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: gustation, mouthful, preference, smack.
- Useful contrasts: dislike, snarfs, spit.
- Usage evidence: I don't like your taste in color.
How to use "taste"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "taste" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "taste" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "taste" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "taste" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "taste" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "gustation" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "taste", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One of the sensations produced by the tongue in response to certain chemicals; the quality of giving this sensation. countable, uncountable
"He had a strange taste in his mouth."
- 2 a kind of sensing; distinguishing substances by means of the taste buds wordnet
- 3 The sense that consists in the perception and interpretation of this sensation. countable, uncountable
"His taste was impaired by an illness."
- 4 the faculty of distinguishing sweet, sour, bitter, and salty properties in the mouth wordnet
- 5 A small sample of food, drink, or recreational drugs. countable, uncountable
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 the sensation that results when taste buds in the tongue and throat convey information about the chemical composition of a soluble stimulus wordnet
- 7 A person's implicit set of preferences, especially esthetic, though also culinary, sartorial, etc. countable, uncountable
"Dr. Parker has good taste in wine."
- 8 delicate discrimination (especially of esthetic values) wordnet
- 9 Personal preference; liking; predilection. countable, uncountable
"I have developed a taste for fine wine."
- 10 a brief experience of something wordnet
- 11 A small amount of experience with something that gives a sense of its quality as a whole. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Such anecdotes give one a taste of life on a trauma ward."
- 12 a strong liking wordnet
- 13 A kind of narrow and thin silk ribbon. countable, uncountable
- 14 a small amount eaten or drunk wordnet
Verb
- 1 To sample the flavor of something orally. transitive
"when the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine"
- 2 experience briefly wordnet
- 3 To have a taste; to excite a particular sensation by which flavor is distinguished. copulative, intransitive
"The chicken tasted great, but the milk tasted like garlic."
- 4 take a sample of wordnet
- 5 To identify (a flavor) by sampling something orally. transitive
"I can definitely taste the marzipan in this cake."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 perceive by the sense of taste wordnet
- 7 To experience. figuratively, transitive
"I tasted in her arms the delights of paradise."
- 8 distinguish flavors wordnet
- 9 To take sparingly.
"1699, John Dryden, Epistle to John Drydenhttps://books.google.es/books?id=0fo_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA147&dq=%22Age+but+tastes+of+pleasures,+youth+devours%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihhoWhjrzqAhV9URUIHYdFCJw4ChDoATAAegQIBBAC#v=onepage&q=%22Age%20but%20tastes%20of%20pleasures%2C%20youth%20devours%22&f=false Age but tastes of pleasures, youth devours."
- 10 have flavor; taste of something wordnet
- 11 To try by eating a little; to eat a small quantity of.
"I tasted a little of this honey."
- 12 have a distinctive or characteristic taste wordnet
- 13 To try by the touch; to handle. obsolete
"to taste the bow"
Adjective
- 1 Deliberate misspelling of tasty. Internet, alt-of, deliberate, misspelling, not-comparable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"I don't like your taste in color."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "taste"?
Common synonyms include: gustation, mouthful, preference, smack, acquired taste, aesthetic.
How do you use "taste" in a sentence?
I don't like your taste in color.
How do you pronounce "taste"?
Pronounced /teɪst/.
Etymology
From Middle English tasten, borrowed from Old French taster, from assumed Vulgar Latin *tastāre, from assumed Vulgar Latin *taxitāre, a new iterative of Latin taxāre (“to touch sharply”), from tangere (“to touch”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-. Almost displaced native Middle English smaken, smakien (“to taste”) (from Old English smacian (“to taste”)), Middle English smecchen (“to taste, smack”) (from Old English smæċċan (“to taste”)) (whence Modern English smack), Middle English buriȝen (“to taste”) (from Old English byrigan, birian (“to taste”)).