taste

[teyst]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR taste ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), tast·ed, tast·ing.

to try or test the flavor or quality of (something) by taking some into the mouth: to taste food.

to eat or drink a little of: She barely tasted her dinner.

to eat or drink (often used in negative constructions): He hadn't tasted food for three days.

to perceive or distinguish the flavor of: to taste the wine in a sauce.

to have or get experience, especially a slight experience: these young men who had only begun to taste life.

to perceive in any way.

Archaic. to enjoy or appreciate.

Obsolete.

to examine by touch; feel.
to test or try.

verb (used without object), tast·ed, tast·ing.

to try the flavor or quality of something.

to eat or drink a little (usually followed by of): She tasted of the cake.

to perceive or distinguish the flavor of anything.

to have experience of something, however limited or slight.

to have a particular flavor (often followed by of): The coffee tastes bitter. The bread tastes of mold.

to smack or savor (usually followed by of): The story tastes of treason.

noun

the act of tasting food or drink.

the sense by which the flavor or savor of things is perceived when they are brought into contact with the tongue.

the sensation or quality as perceived by this sense; flavor.

a small quantity tasted; a morsel, bit, or sip.

a relish, liking, or partiality for something: a taste for music.

the sense of what is fitting, harmonious, or beautiful; the perception and enjoyment of what constitutes excellence in the fine arts, literature, fashion, etc.

the sense of what is seemly, polite, tactful, etc., to say or do in a given social situation.

one's personal attitude or reaction toward an aesthetic phenomenon or social situation, regarded as either good or bad.

the ideas of aesthetic excellence or of aesthetically valid forms prevailing in a culture or personal to an individual: a sample of Victorian taste; I consulted only my own taste in decorating this room.

the formal idiom preferred by a certain artist or culture; style; manner: a façade in the Baroque taste.

a slight experience or a sample of something: a taste of adventure.

a feeling or sensation resulting from an experience: a compromise that left a bad taste in her mouth.

Obsolete. test or trial.

Nearby words

Idioms

taste blood. blood(def 24).

to one's taste, agreeable or pleasing to one: He couldn't find any ties that were completely to his taste.

Origin of taste

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English tasten to touch, taste < Old French taster to touch, explore by touching (Middle French: to touch, taste); cognate with Italian tastare, Provençal, Old Spanish tastar < ?; (noun) Middle English tast sense of touch, a trying, tasting < Old French, derivative of taster

SYNONYMS FOR taste

1. savor. 17. Taste, flavor, savor refer to a quality that is perceived when a substance is placed upon the tongue. Taste is the general word: the taste of roast beef. Flavor is a characteristic taste, usually of a pleasing kind, and as of some ingredient put into the food: lemon flavor. Savor, much less common than taste or flavor, implies pleasing scent as well as taste or flavor, and connotes enjoyment in tasting: The sauce has an excellent savor. 19. fondness, disposition, appreciation, predisposition. 20. discernment, perception, judgment.

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ANTONYMS FOR taste

19. antipathy.

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Related forms

tast·a·ble, taste·a·ble, adjectivepre·taste, noun, verb (used with object), pre·tast·ed, pre·tast·ing.re·taste, verb, re·tast·ed, re·tast·ing.un·tast·a·ble, adjective

un·taste·a·ble, adjectiveun·tast·ed, adjectiveun·tast·ing, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for tasted

“It tasted like a crow enchilada,” Morrissey said, as he literally ate his words.
The Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah Sounds Off on Weed, the Weather, and Winning|Bill Schulz|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I ate the staple corn paste sadza every day and tasted fried mopane worms.
How I Got Addicted to Africa (and Wrote a Thriller About It)|Todd Moss|September 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Not only did it look like and have the texture of crude oil, it tasted like it had been recently drilled.
Spirit Tripping With Colombian Shamans|Chris Allbritton|August 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cider has a long and storied history that can be tasted in the variety of options found throughout the world.
Wine, Watch Out! These Ciders Are Just as Good|Jordan Salcito|July 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

How much of that pain have you tasted, how much of that hurt have you swallowed?
Who Died and Made You Khaleesi? Privilege, White Saviors, and the Elusive Male Feminist Who Doesn’t Suck|Arthur Chu|June 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes the coffee would come to the table a thin, amber fluid that tasted like particularly bad consommé.
The Booming of Acre Hill|John Kendrick Bangs
She folded her napkin, saying: "You make the best biscuits I ever tasted, Hepsey."
Lavender and Old Lace|Myrtle Reed
We gave them strong waters—they tasted the poison—they loved it—and lo!
Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 3 (of 3)|James Athearn Jones
He put wine to my lips; I tasted it and revived; then I ate something he offered me, and was soon myself.
Jane Eyre|Charlotte Bronte
A raw fish, cornered in the shallows and scooped out, furnished one of the best meals he had ever tasted.
The Time Traders|Andre Norton

British Dictionary definitions for tasted

taste

noun

the sense by which the qualities and flavour of a substance are distinguished by the taste buds

the sensation experienced by means of the taste buds

the act of tasting

a small amount eaten, drunk, or tried on the tongue

a brief experience of somethinga taste of the whip

a preference or liking for something; inclinationto have a taste for danger

the ability to make discerning judgments about aesthetic, artistic, and intellectual matters; discriminationto have taste

judgment of aesthetic or social matters according to a generally accepted standardbad taste

discretion; delicacythat remark lacks taste

obsolete the act of testing

verb

to distinguish the taste of (a substance) by means of the taste buds

(usually tr) to take a small amount of (a food, liquid, etc) into the mouth, esp in order to test the qualityto taste the wine

(often foll by of) to have a specific flavour or tastethe tea tastes of soap; this apple tastes sour

(when intr, usually foll by of) to have an experience of (something)to taste success

(tr) an archaic word for enjoy

(tr) obsolete to test by touching

Derived Formstastable, adjective

Word Origin for taste

C13: from Old French taster, ultimately from Latin taxāre to appraise

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

Word Origin and History for tasted

taste

c.1300, "act of tasting," from Old French tast (Modern French tât), from taster (see taste (v.)). Meaning "faculty or sense by which flavor of a thing is discerned" is attested from late 14c. Meaning "savor, sapidity, flavor" is from late 14c. Sense of "aesthetic judgment" is first attested 1670s (cf. French goût, German geschmack, Russian vkus, etc.).

Of all the five senses, 'taste' is the one most closely associated with fine discrimination, hence the familiar secondary uses of words for 'taste, good taste' with reference to aesthetic appreciation. [Buck]

taste

late 13c., "to touch, to handle," from Old French taster "to taste" (13c.), earlier "to feel, touch" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *tastare, apparently an alteration of taxtare, a frequentative form of Latin taxare "evaluate, handle" (see tax). Meaning "to take a little food or drink" is from c.1300; that of "to perceive by sense of taste" is recorded from mid-14c. Of substances, "to have a certain taste or flavor," it is attested from 1550s (replaced native smack (n.1) in this sense). For another PIE root in this sense, see gusto.

The Hindus recognized six principal varieties of taste with sixty-three possible mixtures ... the Greeks eight .... These included the four that are now regarded as fundamental, namely 'sweet,' 'bitter,' 'acid,' 'salt.' ... The others were 'pungent' (Gk. drimys, Skt. katuka-), 'astringent' (Gk. stryphnos, Skt. kasaya-), and, for the Greeks, 'rough, harsh' (austeros), 'oily, greasy' (liparos), with the occasional addition of 'winy' (oinodes). [Buck]

Taste buds is from 1879; also taste goblets.

Medicine definitions for tasted

taste

[tāst]

n.

The sense that distinguishes the sweet, sour, salty, and bitter qualities of dissolved substances in contact with the taste buds on the tongue.

This sense in combination with the senses of smell and touch, which together receive a sensation of a substance in the mouth.

The sensation of sweet, sour, salty, or bitter qualities produced by or as if by a substance placed in the mouth.

The unified sensation produced by any of these qualities plus a distinct smell and texture; flavor.

v.

To distinguish the flavor of something by taking it into the mouth.

To eat or drink a small quantity of something.

To distinguish flavors in the mouth.

To have a distinct flavor.

Idioms and Phrases with tasted

taste

see acquired taste; dose (taste) of one's own medicine; leave a bad taste in one's mouth; no accounting for tastes; poor taste.

taste

verb (used with object), tast·ed, tast·ing.

verb (used without object), tast·ed, tast·ing.

noun

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Origin of taste

Examples from the Web for tasted

taste

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Word Origin for taste

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