umami

American  

[oo-mah-mee] / uˈmɑ mi /

noun

1. a strong meaty taste imparted by glutamate and certain other amino acids: often considered to be one of the basic taste sensations along with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

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Etymology

Origin of umami

First recorded in 1960–65; from Japanese: literally, “savory quality, delicious taste,” equivalent to uma-, the inflectional stem of umai “(to be) delicious” + -mi, a suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives

Example Sentences

Ajinomoto, which means “essence of flavor”, built its food empire on the discovery of umami and commercialized the so-called fifth taste in its purest form as monosodium glutamate, a “flavor bomb” used by cooks worldwide.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

For me, it was a combination of umami and lemon—salty, savory, a little sharp.

From Salon • Mar. 25, 2026

Hokkaido uni has a deeper, more briny umami flavor than the Santa Barbara variety often served when the type isn’t specified.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026

While our perception of salt, sweet and sour is reduced in the presence of white noise, umami is not, and tomatoes, and tomato juice is rich in umami.

From Science Daily • Feb. 9, 2026

“It’s all in there—and by the way, umami means ‘deliciousness,’ even though I don’t remotely like mushrooms.”

From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead