Synonyms

tasty

American

[tey-stee] / ˈteɪ sti /

adjective

tastier, tastiest

good-tasting; savory.

a tasty canapé.

Synonyms:

appetizing, toothsome, delectable, delicious
Informal. having or showing good taste; tasteful.

tasty British

/ ˈteɪstɪ /

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

"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

Related Words

See palatable.

Other Word Forms

tastily adverb
tastiness noun
untastily adverb
untasty adjective

Etymology

Origin of tasty

First recorded in 1610–20; taste + -y ¹

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."

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Vocabulary lists containing tasty

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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

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

Millions of tasty tubers have been rolling into the country's capital, Berlin, since mid-January, with residents risking icy streets to bag their share.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

Surely they would not be tempted by all that plump, tasty poultry...or would they?

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