tasty
Americanadjective
-
good-tasting; savory.
a tasty canapé.
- Synonyms:
- appetizing, toothsome, delectable, delicious
adjective
-
having a pleasant flavour
-
informal attractive: used chiefly by men when talking of women
-
informal skilful or impressive
she was a bit tasty with a cutlass
-
(of cheddar cheese) having a strong flavour
Synonym Usage
See palatable.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of tasty
Explanation
Things that taste great are tasty. You could describe your favorite foods, from doughnuts to baked ziti, as tasty. While tasty basically means the same thing as yummy or flavorful, it implies a less serious compliment than the word delicious, for example. Potato chips are tasty, and so are grilled cheese sandwiches and soft serve ice cream cones. They're pleasant and appetizing, but not necessarily the most amazing food you've ever eaten. Tasty once had a secondary meaning of "elegant" or "tasteful."
Vocabulary lists containing tasty
List 4
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Pizza, Pizza!
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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.
At lunch later, I remarked that the food was especially tasty, and the researchers laughed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2026
It’s tasty, whether you prefer DiGiorno, Totino’s, or Red Baron.
From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026
Yeast has been growing in the guts of a frozen mummy called Oetzi the Iceman for thousands of years, scientists have discovered, telling AFP they used it to make a tasty sourdough bread.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
I’m cutting up a bunch of garlic, I’m using a bunch of olive oil, and I’m using a bunch of different seasonings, and whatever happens, happens and in the end, it’ll be tasty.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
Now she was hiding behind the portrait of Agatha Swanburne and would not come out, no matter how sweetly the children called or how many tasty pancake crumbs they offered on their fingertips.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
