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
Related Words
See palatable.
Other Word Forms
- tastily adverb
- tastiness noun
- untastily adverb
- untasty adjective
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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"A Suitcase of Seaweed" and "Immigrants Today"
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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.
For the most part, they’re branded products manufactured to be convenient, tasty, shelf-stable and difficult to stop eating.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026
"Tilapia originates from the Middle East and Africa, it is now extensively farmed, cod and haddock is so expensive now that tilapia seems the obvious choice, very tasty and affordable for everyone," he said.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026
Some deadly mushrooms are easy to mistake for their tasty counterparts, resulting in several serious illnesses and one death in California.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2026
Dessert was the Cloud, a cotton candy-based treat arriving with a flambéed, Instagram-worthy presentation—and it was just as tasty as it was shareable.
From Salon • Feb. 2, 2026
There were always aromas of tasty dishes, flowers cut from our backyard in vases, doilies that Grandma India crocheted on tables, and squares of tapestry she had made on the walls.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
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.
