1The sensation of flavour perceived in the mouth and throat on contact with a substance.

1. 1.1mass noun The faculty of perceiving taste.
   ‘birds do not have a highly developed sense of taste’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Sensory evaluation is analysis of product attributes perceived by the human senses of smell, taste, touch, sight, and hearing.’
   • ‘Of the five senses - touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing - which one is most important to a naval aviator?’
   • ‘For no spirit could feel things if it were defined under our interpretation of senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight are under no part of the term spirit.’
   • ‘It is through our senses - sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch - that we perceive the world around us.’
   • ‘A nonspiritual person only lives by their five senses, touch, taste, sight, smell and hearing.’
   • ‘External stimuli are received through the senses - touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound.’
   • ‘The disease usually does not affect the senses - taste, touch, sight, smell, and hearing - or the mind.’
   • ‘I have a sense of vision, taste, hearing and smell.’
   • ‘It claims to heighten the senses of taste, smell and touch by offering a dining experience in total darkness.’
   • ‘So in addition to the usual five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, the mental function is counted as the sixth.’
   • ‘To fully appreciate the complexity of wine, the senses of sight, smell, taste and even touch must be employed.’
   • ‘Each plant within the garden has an element which enhances the five senses, i.e. taste, hear, smell, touch and sight.’
   • ‘We perceive our environment via our senses of smell, touch, taste, hearing, sight.’
   • ‘Nevertheless, the senses of smell, taste, and touch have not been neglected.’
   • ‘Bad breath and a decreasing sense of taste and smell are common consequences.’
   • ‘You are no doubt familiar with the five senses: sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste.’
   • ‘Other senses like touch, hearing, taste, smell and sight are derived from self-consciousness.’
   • ‘It does not affect touch, taste, sight, smell and hearing.’
   • ‘He relies first on smell, then on taste; his sense of touch comes last.’
   • ‘Likewise, the quality of each sense perception is embodied as a sense consciousness - sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.’
2. 1.2A small portion of food or drink taken as a sample.
   ‘try a taste of cheese’
   More example sentences

   • ‘In delicatessens, it is customary to offer sample tastes of foods as part of the exchange process.’
   • ‘She uses some of her class time to give students a taste of foods that they might not have tried before, such as avocado and feta.’
   • ‘We didn't order anything very typical but the unique Bulgarian dishes offered on the menu are suggested if you want to get a taste of the traditional foods.’
   • ‘Even if you are not a drinker, if you ever get the chance to sample a taste of Yellow, say at a formal event or special occasion, I suggest you do.’
   • ‘Forget forthcoming food trends, a taste of the exotic is already on the menu - with no moonfish in sight.’
   • ‘After having watched the play, the audience got a taste of Mysore special food.’
   • ‘She took the cup in her hands, brought it to her mouth and took a taste.’
   • ‘Arven put the spoon in his mouth and took a taste.’
   Synonyms

   mouthful, drop, bit, spoonful, sample, sip, nip, swallow, touch, sprinkle, trickle, soupçon

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3. 1.3A brief experience of something, conveying its basic character.
   ‘it was his first taste of serious action’
   More example sentences

   • ‘And the Elder said to him: You have had a brief taste of stillness and inner work, and have experienced the sweetness that comes from them.’
   • ‘I'll share some of that with you here, so that you may have a brief taste of my personal involvement with correspondents.’
   • ‘For the adventurous urbanite, how about experiencing a taste of farm life by visiting a working farm or ranch?’
   • ‘It successfully conveys a taste of the horror and the violence that characterised the Pinochet dictatorship.’
   • ‘Like the London Marathon, it provides amateurs with a brief taste of just what it's like to participate in one of the world's great sporting events.’
   • ‘Herewith a brief taste of this fine book on the art of corrupting humans as described in the letters of a senior tempter to his nephew Wormwood.’
   • ‘Pressley was pivotal in their return to the top division in 1996 and the following season helped United to a third-place finish and a brief taste of European football.’
   • ‘A brief taste of this issue can't do it justice: buy.’
   • ‘Five members of Billericay Methodist Church had an unforgettable experience and a taste of African hospitality when they visited Mombasa in Kenya.’
   • ‘The annual event, the biggest free occasion of its type in south-east England, brought families out into the summer sun to experience a taste of country life.’
   • ‘While climbing Mount Everest might be out of the question, this camp will give aspiring mountaineers a taste of the climbing experience.’
   • ‘He had a brief taste of this ill-rewarded toil as a teenager before being recruited to the Liga youth system as a 16-year-old.’
   • ‘Tomlinson got to sample an early taste of Olympic glory on Wednesday night as West Van's Park Royal played host to the fifth annual North Shore Sport Awards.’
   • ‘In the exhibition on Wednesday, November 24, the group aim to give those living in Sligo town and county a taste of German food, culture and history.’
   • ‘So put your inhibitions behind you and allow yourself to sample a taste of something new!’
   • ‘That was the verdict of children at a Whitefield primary school when they sampled a taste of the French way of life.’
   • ‘Heritage Day gives us the opportunity to step back in time and sample a taste of life from the ‘good old days’.’
   • ‘And where better for the Brazilian-native to sample a taste of the Irish culture than in the heart of South Mayo.’
   • ‘For 12 years, the Tooreen native was content to fly the high life and sample a taste of the glamour and glitz that the world had to offer.’
   • ‘If you want a taste of Goan food, music, and ambience, then Country Club on Mysore Road is the place for you.’
   Synonyms

   experience, impression, sample

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2A person's liking for particular flavours.

1. 2.1A person's tendency to like or be interested in something.
   ‘he found the aggressive competitiveness of the profession was not to his taste’
   More example sentences

   • ‘have you lost your taste for fancy restaurants?’
   • ‘The busy silence that occurred before the conductor returned to the stage - like the opening moments of Sgt Pepper's - was more to my taste.’
   • ‘My brother and I share the same taste in food, drink and humour but when it comes to cars we disagree.’
   • ‘Obviously, it depends on having a decent-sized sample of your musical tastes before it can make sensible recommendations.’
   • ‘And they seemed to have similar tastes in food, music and movies as well.’
   • ‘The sharing aspect of it let you find others who had similar tastes and sample their collections, letting you find something new.’
   • ‘And this is a weird nostalgic experience through my musical tastes since about 1988, when I first bought a CD player.’
   • ‘At the beginning of Darwinia there are perhaps too many characters introduced for my taste, but we soon settle down and concentrate mainly on the fate of Guilford Law.’
   • ‘He conveys these moral tastes to the reader less by means of argument than by ironic indirection or aesthetic intimation.’
   • ‘You can take either video version or either audio version and tailor your viewing experience to your own tastes.’
   • ‘They are perfectly entitled to their tastes and certainly their experiences.’
   • ‘There's a lot of comedy in Mallboy, and Giarrusso is certainly not above getting laughs out of the sheer awfulness of his characters' tastes and habits.’
   • ‘This is a world where lives, character, tastes, moral capacity, sexual preferences, etc., are more often than not dictated by genetic makeup.’
   • ‘If, like me, you have found that movie just too lurid and sadistic for your taste, Sweet Charlotte will probably be more to your liking.’
   • ‘The ending's a little too sweet for my taste, there are oddities (filmed in summer, supposed to be Christmas) and the plot's conventional.’
   • ‘Moreover, the Bullet, like the Harley Davidson, offers a lot of opportunities for the owner to customise it according to his personal tastes and preferences.’
   • ‘But after that, a reader's reaction to a book becomes more subjective: it is mainly a matter of the reader's personal tastes and preferences.’
   • ‘She is a fair, sweet girl with simple tastes and needs.’
   • ‘Suppose further that moderate people adjust their tastes and preferences so that they have a reasonable chance of being satisfied with their share of social goods.’
   • ‘Everyone is assumed to have a set of personal tastes and preferences.’
   • ‘Personal tastes and preferences that can take any form you two decide on.’
   Synonyms

   liking, love, fondness, fancy, desire, preference, penchant, predilection, inclination, partiality, leaning, bent, disposition, proneness

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3mass noun The ability to discern what is of good quality or of a high aesthetic standard.

1. 3.1Conformity or failure to conform with generally held views concerning what is offensive or acceptable.
   ‘that's a joke in very bad taste’
   More example sentences

   • ‘What constitutes an infringement of privacy or bad taste or a failure to conform to proper standards of decency is very much a matter of personal judgment.’
   • ‘Generally, more than half of the complaints received by the ASAI concern alleged misleading advertising; only a third concern taste and decency.’
   • ‘On first encounter, this emblem seems to be in poor taste, even slightly offensive; one that familiarity tends to politely ignore.’
   • ‘It simply reflects how narrow the accepted terrain of public discussion has become, at a time when ideas can be dismissed out-of-hand as being in bad taste or offensive.’
   • ‘The mongrel horde of accepted taste will continually have different leaders as they nose in front of each other depending on our angle as listeners/viewers.’
   • ‘It came to a decision on seven appeals in this quarter, five of which raised matters of fairness and accuracy and two of which concerned matters of taste and decency.’
   • ‘But, the thermals are for the most part within the acceptable boundaries of good taste.’
   • ‘His column about the murder was pulled by the Daily Telegraph this week on grounds of taste.’
   • ‘Sorry if I had to disqualify your entry for lack of taste or offensiveness in general.’
   • ‘Of those stores who do not hire out Nazi costumes, Hazeldress, in Didsbury, refuses to do so on grounds of taste.’
   • ‘We can only hope TV bosses would veto a general election campaign fronted by Ant and Dec on the grounds of taste.’
   • ‘The play has already been banned in Nottingham on the grounds of taste.’
   • ‘But without a Christian or other religious culture I really can't see how you can object to Stu and Shell on grounds of anything but taste.’
   • ‘The webmaster reserves the right to delete, edit or alter user comments on the grounds of abuse, taste or decency.’
   • ‘In each case the rejected form is taken to embody that which is beyond the bounds or transgresses the limits of, variously, decency, acceptability, or good taste.’
   • ‘Entitled Kitsch Fáshion, it pushed the boundaries so far that, ironically, the story was pulled on grounds of taste.’
   • ‘Hydrogen Guy was about to start reciting a poem on the Joys of Cured Meats, but Deuterium Boy pleaded with him not to on the grounds of good taste.’
   • ‘At the same time, the commission shies away from the more complex issue of taste and decency as it relates to discussion of socially divisive issues such as race, immigration and religion.’
   • ‘Several newspapers last week displayed a lack of taste and discretion which was, frankly, ghoulish and surely contravened two clauses of the editors' code of practice.’
   • ‘Do you claim responsibility for changing the boundaries of taste in film culture?’
   Synonyms

   decorum, propriety, correctness, etiquette, politeness, tact, tactfulness, diplomacy, delicacy, nicety, sensitivity, discretion, tastefulness

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1Perceive or experience the flavour of.

1. 1.1no object Have a specified flavour.
   ‘the coffee tasted of acorns’
   More example sentences

   • ‘the spinach tastes delicious’
   • ‘Sick of wines that tasted of artificial flavours and chemicals, he confided his frustration to his wife.’
   • ‘We foraged for the elusive baski, an absurdly delicious wild strawberry that tasted of cherry and blackcurrant too.’
   • ‘The lung was repellently spongy and tasted of bleach.’
   • ‘Her immediate reaction was surprise that it actually tasted of chicken.’
   • ‘We had barbecues with rosemary, steaks with rosemary and everything we had for Sunday lunch always tasted of rosemary.’
   • ‘Just the way that it melts in your mouth and tastes so splendid and rich… aaaaah!’
   • ‘Restaurants generally cook with fat because food tastes better, and people expect larger portions.’
   • ‘Since I began to take blood pressure tablets about two years ago, everything I eat or drink tastes as if it has been sprinkled with salt.’
   • ‘All the food tastes like rubber, like it was sitting up in the refrigerator for five years.’
   • ‘It is refreshing, therefore, to find in a city with many bad Indian restaurants, one where the food tastes unique.’
   • ‘The floor is hard, but cool and somehow the food tastes better and the conversation is lighter.’
   • ‘I think deep-frying may tend to make you get fat, not because it puts more fat in the food, but because it makes the food taste so damned good!’
   • ‘And while the restaurants may not win any stars in the Michelin Guide, their food sure tastes good after a morning on the slopes.’
   • ‘Ever notice food tastes better when you are hungrier?’
   • ‘The question is not whether Waters's food tastes good.’
   • ‘The graphic designer in me ensured the meal was all bright greens and oranges, while the cook in me made the food taste nice too.’
   • ‘But each tastes too sweet and too much like chemicals, like something purchased cheaply at a bad supermarket.’
   • ‘Lead tastes sweet, which is why children start and continue to put it in their mouths.’
   • ‘The whole business of roasting and grinding your own spices may seem like a lot of trouble, but the resulting blend of flavours tastes much better than commercial spice mixtures.’
   • ‘The fish was tender and succulent, tasting a little spicy, richly flavoured by the oil, pepper and spices.’
   Synonyms

   have a flavour, savour, smack, be reminiscent

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2. 1.2Sample the flavour of (food or drink) by taking it into the mouth.
   ‘the waiter poured some wine for him to taste’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Critics tasting these wines without food and in large groups often miss wines like these that do not hammer their palates into submission.’
   • ‘After our food writers and editors taste each dish, it's first come, first served for the rest of the staff, so it pays to hurry when you smell something good.’
   • ‘Then, Kaga and four judges taste the food and pronounce the winner.’
   • ‘This time needs to be savoured, rolled around the palate and gums as though tasting a wine, extracting every last drop of flavour from it, every tiny hint of summer.’
   • ‘I have seen salmon blow a worm in and out of their mouths several times, like a connoisseur tasting fine wine, before swallowing it deep into their gullet.’
   • ‘First, the wines are tasted by all of Omni's food & beverage managers at their annual conference.’
   • ‘Of course we had the cork to test before the wine was poured, and of course it was tasted before all glasses were filled.’
   • ‘Very educational and then, of course, I tasted their whiskies which were fine.’
   • ‘It's such a pretty place, and we really enjoy stopping by the various vineyards and tasting the local product.’
   • ‘They are typically required to blind taste a variety of experimental wines.’
   Synonyms

   sample, test, try, check, examine, savour

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3. 1.3Eat or drink a small portion of.
   ‘she tasted course after course, but was unable to eat very much’
   More example sentences

   • ‘To insure good luck in the coming year one must taste all courses, and there must also be an even number of people at the table to ensure good health.’
   • ‘Fruit and vegetables were then provided at lunch and school staff rewarded children for tasting them or for eating whole portions.’
   • ‘We couldn't have a Greek meal without tasting some baklava, so we ordered one portion to share.’
   • ‘She said I could taste a bit, but of course I carried on and finished off the entire bowl.’
   • ‘This dry red wine with rich fruit flavours, smoky bouquet and fabulous garnet colour can be tasted at the fair.’
   Synonyms

   consume, drink, eat, partake of, devour

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2Have experience of.