taste bud

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noun

one of numerous small, flask-shaped bodies, chiefly in the epithelium of the tongue, which are the end organs for the sense of taste.

Nearby words

tassel flower, tasset, tassie, tasso, taste, taste bud, taste buds, taste cell, taste hair, tasteful, tasteless

Origin of taste bud

First recorded in 1885–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for taste buds

taste bud

noun

any of the elevated oval-shaped sensory end organs on the surface of the tongue, by means of which the sensation of taste is experienced

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

Medicine definitions for taste buds

taste bud

n.

One of a number of flask-shaped receptor cell nests located in the epithelium of the papillae of the tongue and in the soft palate, epiglottis, and pharynx that mediate the sense of taste.

Science definitions for taste buds

taste bud

[ tāst ]

Any of numerous sense organs in most vertebrate animals that are specialized to detect taste. Taste buds are sensitive to four types of taste: sweet, sour, salty, or bitter. In land vertebrates, the taste buds are found on the surface of the tongue. Fish have taste buds all over their bodies.

Culture definitions for taste buds

taste buds

Oval-shaped clusters of cells located on the tongue and lining of the mouth that contain special nerve endings that help give rise to the sense of taste.