taste

taste  (tst)

v. tast·ed, tast·ing, tastes

v.tr.

1. To distinguish the flavor of by taking into the mouth.

2. To eat or drink a small quantity of.

3. To partake of, especially for the first time; experience.

4. To perceive as if by the sense of taste.

5. Archaic To appreciate or enjoy.

v.intr.

1. To distinguish flavors in the mouth.

2. To have a distinct flavor: The stew tastes salty.

3. To eat or drink a small amount.

4. To have experience or enjoyment; partake: tasted of the life of the very rich.

n.

1.

a. The sense that distinguishes the sweet, sour, salty, and bitter qualities of dissolved substances in contact with the taste buds on the tongue.

b. This sense in combination with the senses of smell and touch, which together receive a sensation of a substance in the mouth.

2.

a. The sensation of sweet, sour, salty, or bitter qualities produced by or as if by a substance placed in the mouth.

b. The unified sensation produced by any of these qualities plus a distinct smell and texture; flavor.

c. A distinctive perception as if by the sense of taste: an experience that left a bad taste in my mouth.

3. The act of tasting.

4. A small quantity eaten or tasted.

5. A limited or first experience; a sample: "Thousands entered the war, got just a taste of it, and then stepped out" Mark Twain.

6. A personal preference or liking: a taste for adventure.

7.

a. The faculty of discerning what is aesthetically excellent or appropriate.

b. A manner indicative of the quality of such discernment: a room furnished with superb taste.

8.

a. The sense of what is proper, seemly, or least likely to give offense in a given social situation.

b. A manner indicative of the quality of this sense.

9. Obsolete The act of testing; trial.

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[Middle English tasten, to touch, taste, from Old French taster, from Vulgar Latin *tastre, probably alteration of Latin *taxre, probably frequentative of tangere, to touch; see tag- in Indo-European roots.]

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tasta·ble adj.

Synonyms: taste, flavor, relish, savor, tang¹
These nouns denote a quality that can be perceived by the taste buds on the tongue: the salty taste of anchovies; the pungent flavor of garlic; the zesty relish of the salsa; the savor of rich chocolate; the fresh tang of lemonade.

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taste

Noun

1. the sense by which the flavour of a substance is distinguished by the taste buds

2. the sensation experienced by means of the taste buds

3. a small amount eaten, sipped, or tried on the tongue

4. a brief experience of something: a taste of the planter's life

5. a liking for something: a taste for puns

6. the ability to appreciate what is beautiful and excellent: she's got very good taste in clothes

7. a person's typical preferences as displayed by what they choose to buy, enjoy, etc.: the film was good but a bit violent for my taste

8. the quality of not being offensive or bad-mannered: that remark was in rather poor taste

Verb

[tasting, tasted]

1. to distinguish the taste of (a substance) by means of the taste buds: I've got a stinking cold and can't taste anything

2. to take a small amount of (a food or liquid) into the mouth, esp. in order to test the flavour

3. to have a flavour or taste as specified: the pizza tastes delicious

4. to have a brief experience of (something): they have tasted democracy and they won't let go [Old French taster]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	taste - the sensation that results when taste buds in the tongue and throat convey information about the chemical composition of a soluble stimulus; "the candy left him with a bad taste"; "the melon had a delicious taste" gustatory perception, gustatory sensation, taste perception, taste sensation aesthesis, esthesis, sensation, sense datum, sense experience, sense impression - an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation; "a sensation of touch" sapidity, savor, savour, smack, flavor, flavour, nip, relish, tang - the taste experience when a savoury condiment is taken into the mouth sugariness, sweetness, sweet - the taste experience when sugar dissolves in the mouth sourness, tartness, sour - the taste experience when vinegar or lemon juice is taken into the mouth bitter, bitterness - the taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth salinity, saltiness, salt - the taste experience when common salt is taken into the mouth astringence, astringency - a sharp astringent taste; the taste experience when a substance causes the mouth to pucker finish - (wine tasting) the taste of a wine on the back of the tongue (as it is swallowed); "the wine has a nutty flavor and a pleasant finish" flatness - a deficiency in flavor; "it needed lemon juice to sharpen the flatness of the dried lentils" mellowness - a taste (especially of fruit) that is ripe and of full flavor
	2.	taste - a strong liking; "my own preference is for good literature"; "the Irish have a penchant for blarney" penchant, preference, predilection liking - a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment; "I've always had a liking for reading"; "she developed a liking for gin" acquired taste - a preference that is only acquired after considerable experience; "martinis are an acquired taste" weakness - a penchant for something even though it might not be good for you; "he has a weakness for chocolate"
	3.	taste - delicate discrimination (especially of aesthetic values); "arrogance and lack of taste contributed to his rapid success"; "to ask at that particular time was the ultimate in bad taste" appreciation, discernment, perceptiveness discrimination, secernment - the cognitive process whereby two or more stimuli are distinguished connoisseurship, vertu, virtu - love of or taste for fine objects of art vogue, style, trend - the popular taste at a given time; "leather is the latest vogue"; "he followed current trends"; "the 1920s had a style of their own" delicacy, discretion - refined taste; tact culture - the tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group
	4.	taste - a brief experience of something; "he got a taste of life on the wild side"; "she enjoyed her brief taste of independence" experience - an event as apprehended; "a surprising experience"; "that painful experience certainly got our attention"
	5.	taste - a small amount eaten or drunk; "take a taste--you'll like it" mouthful helping, serving, portion - an individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal; "the helpings were all small"; "his portion was larger than hers"; "there's enough for two servings each" bite, morsel, bit - a small amount of solid food; a mouthful; "all they had left was a bit of bread" sup, swallow - a small amount of liquid food; "a sup of ale" small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity - an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude
	6.	taste - the faculty of distinguishing sweet, sour, bitter, and salty properties in the mouth; "his cold deprived him of his sense of taste" gustation, gustatory modality, sense of taste sense modality, sensory system, modality - a particular sense exteroception - sensitivity to stimuli originating outside of the body
	7.	taste - a kind of sensing; distinguishing substances by means of the taste buds; "a wine tasting" tasting sensing, perception - becoming aware of something via the senses
Verb	1.	taste - have flavor; taste of something savour, savor smack, taste - have a distinctive or characteristic taste; "This tastes of nutmeg"
	2.	taste - perceive by the sense of taste; "Can you taste the garlic?" perceive, comprehend - to become aware of through the senses; "I could perceive the ship coming over the horizon" savor, savour - taste appreciatively; "savor the soup"
	3.	taste - take a sample of; "Try these new crackers"; "Sample the regional dishes" sample, try, try out ingest, consume, have, take in, take - serve oneself to, or consume regularly; "Have another bowl of chicken soup!"; "I don't take sugar in my coffee" degust - taste with relish; "degust this wonderful soup"
	4.	taste - have a distinctive or characteristic taste; "This tastes of nutmeg" smack savour, taste, savor - have flavor; taste of something
	5.	taste - distinguish flavors; "We tasted wines last night" identify - consider to be equal or the same; "He identified his brother as one of the fugitives"
	6.	taste - experience briefly; "The ex-slave tasted freedom shortly before she died" experience, know, live - have firsthand knowledge of states, situations, emotions, or sensations; "I know the feeling!"; "have you ever known hunger?"; "I have lived a kind of hell when I was a drug addict"; "The holocaust survivors have lived a nightmare"; "I lived through two divorces"

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taste

noun 1. flavour, savour, relish, smack, tang << OPPOSITE blandness

noun 2. bit, bite, drop, swallow, sip, mouthful, touch, sample, dash, nip, spoonful, morsel, titbit, soupçon (French)

noun 3. liking, preference, penchant, fondness, partiality, desire, fancy, leaning, bent, appetite, relish, inclination, palate, predilection << OPPOSITE dislike

noun 4. refinement, style, judgment, culture, polish, grace, discrimination, perception, appreciation, elegance, sophistication, cultivation, discernment << OPPOSITE lack of judgment

noun 5. propriety, discretion, correctness, delicacy, tact, politeness, nicety, decorum, tactfulness << OPPOSITE impropriety

verb 6. (often with of) have a flavour of, smack of, savour of

verb 7. sample, try, test, relish, sip, savour, nibble

verb 8. distinguish, perceive, discern, differentiate

verb 9. experience, know, undergo, partake of, feel, encounter, meet with, come up against, have knowledge of << OPPOSITE miss >> noun gustation

Translations

taste [teɪst] n → sabor m; gusto;

(also: aftertaste) → dejo (= sip); sorbo;

(fig) (= glimpse, idea); muestra, idea

vt → probar

vi to taste of or like (fish etc) → saber a;

you can taste the garlic (in it) → se nota el sabor a ajo;

can I have a taste of this wine? → ¿puedo probar este vino?;

to have a taste for sth → ser aficionado a algo;

in good/bad taste → de buen/mal gusto;

to be in bad or poor taste → ser de mal gusto

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taste [teɪst] n → goût m (fig) (= glimpse, idea); idée f, aperçu m

vt → goûter

vi to taste of [+ fish etc] → avoir le or un goût de;

it tastes like fish → ça a un or le goût de poisson, on dirait du poisson;

what does it taste like? → quel goût ça a?;

you can taste the garlic (in it) → on sent bien l'ail;

to have a taste of sth → goûter (à) qch;

can I have a taste? → je peux goûter?;

to have a taste for sth → aimer qch, avoir un penchant pour qch;

to be in good/bad or poor taste → être de bon/mauvais goût

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taste [teɪst] n → Geschmack m;

(sample) → Kostprobe f (fig) [of suffering, freedom etc] → Vorgeschmack m

vt (= get flavour of) → schmecken (= test); probieren, versuchen

vi to taste of/like sth → nach/wie etw schmecken;

sense of taste → Geschmackssinn m;

to have a taste of sth (= sample) → etw probieren;

to acquire a taste for sth (= liking) → Geschmack an etw dat finden;

to be in good/bad taste [joke etc] → geschmackvoll/geschmacklos sein;

you can taste the garlic (in it) (detect) → man schmeckt den Knoblauch durch;

what does it taste like? → wie schmeckt es?

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taste [teɪst] n → gusto (= flavour); sapore m; gusto;

(fig) (= glimpse, idea); idea

vt → gustare (= sample); assaggiare

vi to taste of [+ fish etc] → sapere di, avere sapore di;

what does it taste like? → che sapore or gusto ha?;

it tastes like fish → sa di pesce;

you can taste the garlic (in it) → (ci) si sente il sapore dell'aglio;

can I have a taste of this wine? → posso assaggiare un po' di questo vino?;

to have a taste of sth → assaggiare qc;

to have a taste for sth → avere un'inclinazione per qc;

to be in bad or poor taste → essere di cattivo gusto