taste

  • noun 1 the sensation of flavour perceived in the mouth on contact with a substance. 2 the faculty of perceiving this. 3 a small portion of food or drink taken as a sample. 4 a brief experience of something. 5 a person’s liking for something. 6 the ability to discern what is of good quality or of a high aesthetic standard. 7 conformity to a specified degree with generally held views on what is acceptable or offensive: a joke in bad taste.

  • verb 1 perceive or experience the flavour of. 2 have a specified flavour. 3 sample or test the flavour of. 4 eat or drink a small portion of. 5 have a brief experience of.

  — PHRASES to taste according to personal liking.

  — ORIGIN from Old French taster ‘touch, try, taste’, perhaps from a blend of Latin tangere ‘to touch’ and gustare ‘to taste’.

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