tangy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of tangy
Explanation
Tangy foods, like vinegar and lemon juice, have a sharp, acidic flavor. Your salad will taste better if you pour plenty of tangy salad dressing on it. If you like tangy flavors, you'll probably enjoy lemonade that's not too sweet, as well as foods like blue cheese, lime-flavored Thai dishes, and plain yogurt. The adjective tangy comes from tang, "strong flavor or smell." The earliest definition of tang was "a serpent's stinging tongue," from a root meaning "to bite."
Vocabulary lists containing tangy
Tasteful Terms: Flavorful Words
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The Night Diary
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Words for Cheese Writers
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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.
It was gooey, soft and slathered in a classic tangy cream cheese frosting.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
The natural leavening gives them a lighter, crispier crust and an airy, mildly tangy crumb.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
The McRib, also offered on a limited-time basis, is described as “seasoned boneless pork dipped in a tangy BBQ sauce, topped with slivered onions and tangy pickles.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026
A maximalist, grown-up riff on seven-layer dip: smoky chorizo, creamy beans, sweet corn and tangy crema stacked into something closer to a full meal than a snack.
From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026
My father is smiling, and the air is filled with the tangy smell of silver, and Judith and Mina have been folded into the Amsterdam underground.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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.
