taste
n. C / Un. the sense that lets you recognize flavors in food and drink. It also means the specific flavor of something or your personal preference for things like clothes or music.
n. the sensation of flavor perceived in the mouth and throat on contact with a substance. It also refers to the faculty of discerning what is aesthetically pleasing or appropriate.
The soup has a very salty taste.
I do not really like the taste of olives, but my sister thinks they are delicious.
Her refined taste in interior design is evident in the way she balances modern minimalist furniture with vibrant antique textiles.
From Middle English tasten, borrowed from Old French taster, from assumed Vulgar Latin tastāre, from assumed Vulgar Latin taxitāre, a new iterative of Latin taxāre (“to touch sharply”), from tangere (“to touch”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-. Almost displaced native Middle English smaken, smakien (“to taste”) (from Old English smacian (“to taste”)), Middle English smecchen (“to taste, smack”) (from Old English smæċċan (“to taste”)) (whence Modern English smack), Middle English buriȝen (“to taste”) (from Old English byrigan, birian (“to taste”)).
Uncountable when referring to the general sense or faculty; countable when referring to a specific flavor or a brief experience of something.
The cake tastes very wellThe cake tastes very goodWhen used as a linking verb, 'taste' is followed by an adjective, not an adverb.
- 01
acquired taste
Something that is appreciated only after having initially been regarded as unappealing or unpleasant; a person who is regarded as difficult or dislikable but of whom at least some have grown to approve.
- 02
all one's taste is in one's mouth
One lacks good taste in aesthetic or cultural matters.
- 03
bad taste in one's mouth
A feeling that something is morally despicable as to cause nausea.