Synonyms

flavor

American

[fley-ver] / ˈfleɪ vər /

especially British, flavour

noun

taste, especially the distinctive taste of something as it is experienced in the mouth.
a substance or extract that provides a particular taste; flavoring.

Synonyms:

seasoning
the characteristic quality of a thing.

He captured the flavor of the experience in his book.

Synonyms:

spirit, essence
a particular quality noticeable in a thing.

language with a strong nautical flavor.
Physics. any of the six labels given to the distinct kinds of quark: up, down, strange, charm, bottom, and top.
Archaic. smell, odor, or aroma.

verb (used with object)

to give flavor to (something).

flavor Scientific

/ flā′vər /

Any of six classifications of quark varieties, distinguished by mass and electric charge. The flavors have the names up, down, strange, charm, top, and bottom. Protons in atomic nuclei are composed of two up quarks and one down quark, while neutrons consist of one up quark and two down quarks. The flavor of a quark may be changed in interactions involving the weak force.

Synonym Usage

See taste.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of flavor

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French fla(o)ur, from unattested Late Latin flātor “stench, breath,” alteration of Latin flātus a “blowing, breathing,” ( see flatus), perhaps with -or of fētor fetor

Explanation

Flavor is the way something tastes. If an ice cream shop offers 50 flavors, each one of them will taste different. The flavor of your soup can be adjusted by adding salt — and when you add ingredients to change a food's taste, you can say you flavor it. From the flavor of food comes the sense of flavor meaning "atmosphere" or "feeling." You could say, for example, that you're not crazy about a particular clothing shop because it has such a glitzy, expensive flavor. Flavor initially meant "smell," from the Vulgar Latin flator, "odor."

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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.

But the women's team are set to attend a celebratory event in Las Vegas this July hosted by rapper Flavor Flav.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Tributes have started to come in with hip hop star Tyler the Creator posting a black and white photo and Flavor Flav from Public Enemy calling him an icon.

From BBC • Oct. 14, 2025

“The Surreal Life” mushed Brigitte Nielsen and Flavor Flav together in its third season, a bizarre coupling that inspired “Strange Love” and a whopping assortment of spinoffs and related shows.

From Salon • Jul. 24, 2025

We even got a few random but fun celebrities who are still posting, like Flavor Flav and Mina Kimes and even the Portland Trail Blazers.

From Slate • Jun. 12, 2025

We’re going to watch Sorcerer’s Stone and eat Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans and send a photo to J. K. Rowling on Twitter and see if she likes our tweet.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023