noun
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a taste that lingers on after eating or drinking
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a lingering impression or sensation
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of aftertaste
Explanation
The taste that lingers in your mouth after you've eaten something is called an aftertaste. You might complain that the strawberry bubble gum you love has a weird, plastic aftertaste. You might enjoy the first few sips of a new brand of soda, but find yourself disturbed by the flavor that stays behind on your tongue — this is the aftertaste. Some foods and drinks have a bitter or sour aftertaste, which can be enough to ruin the experience of eating or drinking. You can also use aftertaste figuratively, to mean "a general feeling," as in: "That argument with my friend left a bad aftertaste."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If it melts, "it especially affects the lingering aftertaste once you've taken a sip."
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
All in all, a good meal that leaves no bitter aftertaste.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
I chugged cups of instant black coffee like water, not paying much heed to the bitter, pungent aftertaste that lingered on my tongue and scorched my throat.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025
This vignette, despite the mishap, ends more happily than the others, but the evening still leaves a sour aftertaste.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
The drink soothed my throat and left a warm chocolaty aftertaste.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
"People notice metallic and bitter aftertastes and it can be hard to mask it," says Sharma.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2021
Dirty tubes can lend the ice cream unpleasant off-notes and aftertastes.
From New York Times ● May 22, 2018
Aside from unpleasant aftertastes, sugar alcohols can have adverse gastro-effects, causing intestinal pain and diarrhea.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 23, 2015
Among the most disappointing -- because they lacked flavor or because of unpleasantly sharp and metallic aftertastes -- were Manhattan Brewing Co.'s bottled Gold lager and its draught Oktoberfest and Amber beers.
From Time Magazine Archive
And then I don’t want any second-hand spurious sensations; I want the knowledge that leaves a trace—that leaves strange scars and stains, ineffable reveries and aftertastes, behind it!
From Lady Barbarina The Siege of London, An International Episode and Other Tales by Henry James
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
