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aftertaste

American  
[af-ter-teyst, ahf-] / ˈæf tərˌteɪst, ˈɑf- /

noun

  1. a taste remaining after the substance causing it is no longer in the mouth.

  2. the remaining sensation following an unpleasant experience, incident, etc..

    the aftertaste of a bad marriage.
aftertaste British  
/ ˈɑːftəˌteɪst /

noun

  1. a taste that lingers on after eating or drinking

  2. a lingering impression or sensation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of aftertaste

First recorded in 1820–30; after + taste

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."

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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.