noun
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a taste that lingers on after eating or drinking
-
a lingering impression or sensation
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.
That can leave the occasionally repetitive “Zodiac Killer Project” with a shallow aftertaste to go with its smarts.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025
With notes of caramel, orange blossom and jasmine, Illy Caffe’s Classico Instant Coffee leaves behind a deliciously sweet and floral aftertaste that complements its robust blend made exclusively from Arabica beans.
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
Hunan's fare has "a tangy aftertaste achieved through fermented chilli peppers", she says, unlike "Sichuan's numbing-spicy or Guizhou's sour-spicy".
From BBC • Aug. 16, 2025
The molasses tasted sweet, but with a bitter, black-licorice aftertaste.
From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis
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.
