flavor

American  

[fley-ver] / ˈfleɪ vər /

especially British, flavour

noun

flavors plural

1. taste, especially the distinctive taste of something as it is experienced in the mouth.

2. a substance or extract that provides a particular taste; flavoring.

   Synonyms:

   seasoning

3. the characteristic quality of a thing.

   He captured the flavor of the experience in his book.

   Synonyms:

   spirit, essence

4. a particular quality noticeable in a thing.

   language with a strong nautical flavor.

5. Physics. any of the six labels given to the distinct kinds of quark: up, down, strange, charm, bottom, and top.

6. Archaic. smell, odor, or aroma.

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verb (used with object)

1. to give flavor to (something).

flavor Scientific  

/ flā′vər /

1. 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.

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Synonym Usage

See taste.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preflavor
  noun
• overflavor
  verb
• deflavor
  verb (used with object)
• flavorless
  adjective
• unflavored
  adjective
• well-flavored
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• flavors
  plural

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flavor flavors

Instead of the mechanical rituals of the modern Election Day, it would have added a unique flavor to politics in 2026.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

By the time regulators clamp down on a specific flavor of risky investing, the money has already moved elsewhere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Choose whatever farmers market flavor is calling to you—apricot, sour cherry, blackberry and red plum would all be excellent this time of year.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

It’s both salty and sweet, without feeling overpowering on either end of the flavor scale.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

Whoever came up with the best flavor would win a special silver ticket.

From "Scream for Ice Cream: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #2" by Carolyn Keene

Meanwhile, insurers piled into other, equally risky, flavors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Drinking caffeinated coffee without added sugars, flavors, or cream was associated with lower risks of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, heart failure, and some irregular heart rhythms.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026

For something colder, Clementine’s ice cream is the most scoopable straight-from-the-freezer pint I’ve ever tried, with traditional, vegan and alcohol-infused “naughty” flavors to choose from.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

But as sugarless drinks become more popular, producers will have to find other ways to to block the flavors people might not like.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026

We once played this game where I would close my eyes, he’d take a spoonful of whatever flavors were available in his freezer, and I had to guess which ice cream it was.

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

Related Words

• acidity
• aroma
• essence
• extract
• seasoning
• sweetness
• zest