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umami

American

[oo-mah-mee] / uˈmɑ mi /

noun

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.

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

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:

umami

Eleven reported difficulty detecting specific flavors, particularly sweet, bitter, and umami, the savory taste associated with foods such as mushrooms and broth.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

Specifically, it amplifies the signals generated when the tongue detects sweet, bitter, and umami flavors.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

Another company, Ajinomoto, uses byproducts from its world-famous umami seasoning to create insulating film for AI chips.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

They've experimented with different microorganisms to minimise off-flavours and maximise desirable flavour compounds such as umami or sweetness.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

Maybe not umami delicious, but pretty darn tasty.

From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023