taster
Americannoun
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a person who tastes, especially one skilled in distinguishing the qualities of liquors, tea, etc., by the taste.
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a container for taking samples or tasting.
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a wide shallow cup, usually metal, for holding wine to be tasted, as by a professional taster.
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a person employed or ordered to taste the food and drink prepared for a king, dictator, etc., to ascertain the presence of poison.
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Genetics. a person able to taste phenylthiourea or some other test substance.
noun
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a person who samples food or drink for quality
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any device used in tasting or sampling
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a person employed, esp formerly, to taste food and drink prepared for a king, etc, to test for poison
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a sample or preview of a product, experience, etc, intended to stimulate interest in the product, experience, etc, itself
the single serves as a taster for the band's new album
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of taster
1350–1400; Middle English tastour < Anglo-French. See taste, -er 1
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.
See Examples For:
"I know what to expect with the audience... it was a bit of a taster run."
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025
A pea taster, she samples about 32 plates of peas on a daily basis during the season.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2025
Willow's parents said she had one free "taster" session and then one paid session.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2024
Parents told the BBC they paid between £180 and £975 for blocks of one-to-one coaching sessions and that often just one or two were delivered - including a free taster.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2024
Every place they stayed was first secured by the King’s Guard, and every meal they ate was first tasted by the King’s chief taster to ensure that the food was not poisoned.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
The fruit was described as "sweet and very delicious," while the wine impressed tasters with its "subtle Muscat aroma and smooth drinking quality."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2025
Over the years, many food and drink companies have advertised for "professional tasters" for things like beer and chocolate.
From BBC ● May 16, 2025
It’s then that Herrera reveals the percentage each vineyard contributed to the final blend, but only after inserting a past vintage of Red Stitch into the mix unbeknownst to the tasters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2025
The minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, suggested in March establishing a task force of tasters to monitor quality standards in Italian restaurants around the world, to avoid chefs getting recipes wrong or using ingredients that aren't Italian.
From Reuters ● Nov. 25, 2023
Having lunch with professional food tasters, of course, is a tricky proposition.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
