# taste

Pronunciation: say "TAYST" /teɪst/

## Noun

1. One of the sensations the tongue produces in response to certain chemicals, or the quality in food that produces it.
   - Simple: A sensation your tongue picks up, like sweet or salty, or the flavor that food has.
   - _A pinch of salt changed the taste of the whole dish._
   - _Ripe fruit develops a sweeter taste as its sugars build up._
4. An individual's implicit set of preferences, especially in aesthetic matters but also in food, dress, and the like.
   - Simple: The things a person generally likes or prefers, especially in art, music, food, or clothes.
   - _His taste in furniture favors clean, modern lines._
   - _Her taste in music runs from old jazz to loud punk rock._
5. An individual's personal preference, liking, or predilection.
   - Simple: A person's liking or preference for certain things.
   - _Travel gave him a taste for foreign cooking._
   - _She acquired a taste for early mornings after years on a farm._
6. The bodily sense by which flavors are perceived and interpreted, centered on the tongue.
   - Simple: The sense that lets you notice and understand flavors with your tongue.
   - _After surgery, her taste slowly returned over several weeks._
   - _Smell and taste work together to let us enjoy a meal._
7. The capacity to recognize what is attractive, elegant, or fitting, or what is socially appropriate rather than offensive.
   - Simple: The ability to tell what looks good or right, or what is polite and will not upset people.
   - _The hotel lobby was furnished with real taste: plain wood, soft colors, and no clutter._
   - _Running the ad the day after the tragedy showed a stunning lack of taste._
8. A brief experience of something that gives a sense of what the whole is like.
   - Simple: A short experience of something that shows what it is like.
   - _The internship offered a taste of life as a surgeon._
   - _Their first match gave the rookies a taste of professional pressure._
9. A small amount of food or drink, or of a recreational drug, that is given or taken so someone can sample it, meaning the bit itself rather than the act of trying it.
   - Simple: A small bit of food or drink that you try.
   - _The chef offered each guest a taste of the new dish._
   - _He took just a taste of the whiskey before driving home._

## Verb

2. To have a particular flavor; to produce the sensation by which a flavor is recognized.
   - Simple: To have a particular flavor when eaten or drunk.
   - _The bread tastes faintly of honey._
   - _Fresh herbs taste brighter than dried ones._
3. To try food or drink by eating or drinking a small amount of it, to find out its flavor.
   - Simple: To put a little food or drink in your mouth to find out what it is like.
   - _Always taste a dish before serving it to guests._
   - _He tasted the wine carefully, then nodded to the waiter._
10. To recognize a particular flavor by sampling something with the mouth.
   - Simple: To notice a certain flavor in food or drink.
   - _Can you taste the lemon in this dressing?_
   - _Experienced brewers can taste subtle differences between batches._
11. To experience something, especially for the first time.
   - Simple: To experience something, often for the first time.
   - _He longed to taste life beyond his small hometown._
   - _Having escaped at last, they tasted real freedom._
12. To take or partake of something only sparingly.
   - Simple: To take or use only a little of something.

## Verb

13. To examine something by touching or handling it. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To feel or handle something in order to try it.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A narrow, thin silk ribbon.

## Origin

"Taste" comes from Middle English "tasten," borrowed from Old French "taster," from an assumed Vulgar Latin form based on Latin "taxāre" ("to touch sharply") and ultimately "tangere" ("to touch"), tracing back to Proto-Indo-European. It nearly replaced native Old English words for tasting such as "smæccan" and "byrigan."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/taste (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).