INDEX:
1. the taste of food or drink
2. to have a particular taste
3. with a sweet taste
4. with a taste that is not sweet
5. with a sour taste
6. with a hot taste
7. with a strong taste
8. with little or no taste
9. to find out what something tastes like
10. when someone can recognize the taste that something has
RELATED WORDS
what kind of clothes, music etc someone likes : ↑ TASTE IN CLOTHES, MUSIC ETC
food that tastes very good : ↑ DELICIOUS
food that tastes very bad : ↑ HORRIBLE
food that no longer tastes fresh : ↑ FRESH/NOT FRESH
see also
↑ FOOD
↑ DRINK
↑ EAT
↑ COOK
↑ SMELL
↑ MEAL
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1. the taste of food or drink
▷ taste /teɪst/ [singular noun]
the feeling that a particular food or drink produces in your mouth when you eat or drink it :
▪ I never drink beer, I just don’t like the taste.
▪ a sour taste
taste of
▪ Have some water to take away the taste of the medicine.
▷ flavour British /flavor American /ˈfleɪvəʳ/ [countable/uncountable noun]
the pleasant, interesting, or strong taste that a particular kind of food or drink has :
▪ This sauce has a really unusual flavour.
▪ We have three flavors of ice cream - strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla.
▪ The wine wasn’t bad, but it didn’t have much flavour.
▷ hint /hɪnt/ [singular noun]
a slight, pleasant taste of something that you can only just notice :
hint of
▪ You might notice a hint of brandy in the sauce.
▪ a wine that tastes of blackcurrants with just a hint of vanilla
▷ aftertaste /ˈɑːftəʳteɪstǁˈæf-/ [singular noun]
the unpleasant taste that some kinds of food and drink leave in your mouth after you have swallowed them :
▪ Some customers complained about the salty aftertaste.
▪ The crab left too much of a fishy aftertaste.
2. to have a particular taste
▷ taste /teɪst/ [intransitive verb not in progressive]
taste taste adjective
▪ This milk tastes strange - do you think it’s OK to drink?
taste like
▪ It’s a vegetarian pie, but it tastes just like meat!
taste of
have the taste of something
▪ I ordered chocolate ice cream but this tastes of coffee.
▷ have a sweet/strong/bitter etc taste /hæv ə ˌswiːt ˈteɪst/ [verb phrase not in progressive]
▪ The soup had a very strong, spicy taste.
▷ flavoured British /flavored American /ˈfleɪvəʳd/ [adjective]
use this to say what kind of taste something has :
▪ We have a variety of flavored waters available.
▪ The potato salad was flavored with onions, the way Mattie liked it.
lemon-flavoured/chocolate-flavoured etc
having the taste of lemon, chocolate etc added
▪ an orange-flavoured drink
highly flavoured/strongly flavoured etc
▪ The wines of Alsace are dry and delicately flavoured.
3. with a sweet taste
▷ sweet /swiːt/ [adjective]
food or drink that is sweet has a taste like sugar :
▪ Italian oranges are much sweeter than the ones we buy in Britain.
▪ a cup of hot sweet tea
▷ sugary /ˈʃʊgəri/ [adjective]
very sweet or too sweet because a lot of sugar has been added :
▪ Eat fruit between meals, and try to avoid sugary snacks.
▷ sickly /ˈsɪkli/ [adjective] British
tasting unpleasantly sweet :
▪ The melons were overripe and had a sickly taste.
▷ sweeten /ˈswiːtn/ [transitive verb]
to make something taste sweet or sweeter :
▪ Sprinkle sugar onto the cooked fruit to sweeten it.
▪ a can of sweetened milk
4. with a taste that is not sweet
▷ salty /ˈsɔːlti/ [adjective]
salty foods taste of salt and are not sweet at all :
▪ The french fries were too salty for me.
▪ This wine would be excellent with a salty dish such as ham.
▷ savoury /ˈseɪv ə ri/ [adjective] especially British
savoury foods are not sweet but have the taste of meat, cheese, fish etc :
▪ You can use this herb to flavour almost any savoury dish.
▪ As a child I didn’t like sweets, but I loved crisps, nuts, and anything savoury.
▷ bitter /ˈbɪtəʳ/ [adjective]
bitter foods, such as coffee without sugar or very dark chocolate, have a strong, sometimes unpleasant taste :
▪ Try not to burn the oil, it will make the sauce taste bitter.
▪ strong, bitter coffee
▪ The herb rue has a bitter taste, which makes it unpopular for cooking.
▷ dry /draɪ/ [adjective]
a dry wine is not sweet at all :
▪ We drank a dry white wine with our fish.
▪ dry sherry
5. with a sour taste
▷ sour /saʊəʳ/ [adjective]
food that is sour, especially fruit, has a taste that stings your tongue slightly, like a lemon does :
▪ The strawberries are a little sour - you may need to put sugar on them.
▪ Kvass is a mild beer that is sometimes used in Russian cooking for its sour flavor.
▷ tart /tɑːʳt/ [adjective]
fruits that are tart, especially apples, sting your tongue and make water come into your mouth :
▪ This tart citrus dressing is great on salads.
▪ Red currants are quite tart and usually need sugar or honey.
▷ sharp /ʃɑːʳp/ [adjective]
having a strong but pleasant taste that stings your tongue :
▪ The drink had a very sharp lemony taste.
▪ I like this marmalade. It’s very sharp.
▪ The lemon juice gives the dressing its sharp flavour.
▷ tangy /ˈtæŋi/ [adjective]
having a fresh, pleasant taste that stings your tongue slightly :
▪ The orange juice had a delicious tangy taste.
▪ We made a tangy mayonnaise from yoghurt and honey.
tang [singular noun]
the pleasantly sharp taste that some kinds of food or drink have :
▪ The lime juice will give your sauce a delicious tang.
▪ a unique cheese, smooth but leaving a salty tang behind on the tongue
6. with a hot taste
▷ hot /hɒtǁhɑːt/ [adjective]
food that has a hot taste seems to burn your mouth, and makes you want to drink a lot of water :
▪ The curry was so hot I couldn’t finish it.
▪ The sauce had a hot, peppery taste.
▷ spicy /ˈspaɪsi/ [adjective]
spicy food tastes pleasantly hot and often seems to have a mix of different tastes :
▪ Tina loves hot spicy food.
▪ I added ginger and cumin to give the rice a spicy flavour.
▷ fiery /ˈfaɪ ə ri/ [adjective]
food or drink that is fiery has an extremely hot taste that burns your throat :
▪ Peter always makes really fiery chilli con carne.
▪ Discard all the chilli seeds, unless you want an extremely fiery soup.
7. with a strong taste
▷ strong /strɒŋǁstrɔːŋ/ [adjective]
food or drinks that are strong have a very noticeable and particular taste :
▪ ‘How do you like your tea?’ ‘Strong please, with no sugar.’
▪ I left the restaurant with rather a strong taste of onions in my mouth.
▪ Stilton is a very strong English cheese, which has blue-green veins running through it.
▷ rich /rɪtʃ/ [adjective]
food that is rich contains a lot of cheese, cream, butter, or chocolate, and makes you feel full very quickly :
▪ You mustn’t eat too much rich food -- it’s bad for you.
▪ The meat was browned to perfection and topped with a rich sauce.
▷ full-flavoured British /full-flavored American /ˌfʊl ˈfleɪvəʳd/ [adjective]
something such as cheese or coffee that is full- flavoured has a strong pleasant taste :
▪ This coffee is strong and full-flavoured, excellent for after dinner.
▷ full-bodied /ˌfʊl ˈbɒdid◂ǁ-ˈbɑː-/ [adjective]
a full-bodied wine has a strong pleasant taste :
▪ The beautiful color and full-bodied taste of these Australian wines make them an excellent accompaniment to meat dishes.
8. with little or no taste
▷ tasteless /ˈteɪstləs/ [adjective]
food that is tasteless has little or no taste and is rather unpleasant :
▪ Why is airplane food always so tasteless?
▪ a plate of tasteless, overcooked vegetables
▷ bland /blænd/ [adjective]
food or drink that is bland has very little taste and is not interesting to eat or drink :
▪ If the sauce is bland, add a little more vinegar.
▪ At first, give the baby tiny portions of any bland food that has been sieved or pureed.
▷ have no taste/not have any taste /hæv ˌnəʊ ˈteɪst, nɒt hæv eni ˈteɪst/ [verb phrase not in progressive]
to have very little taste - use this especially when you think something should have more taste :
▪ The most disappointing dish was the chicken-filled tortellini with a pesto sauce that had almost no taste.
▪ You need to add salt or something - this doesn’t have any taste at all.
▷ not taste of anything British informal /not taste like anything American informal /nɒt ˈteɪst əv ˈeniθɪŋ, nɒt ˌteɪst laɪk ˈeniθɪŋ/ [verb phrase not in progressive]
to have no particular taste :
▪ I’m not sure what kind of soup this is supposed to be. It doesn’t taste of anything to me.
▪ The dessert wasn’t awful, but it didn’t taste like anything.
▷ mild /maɪld/ [adjective]
something such as cheese or coffee that is mild has a pleasant taste but is not hot or strong :
▪ It’s a smooth, mild coffee, excellent for finishing off a meal.
▪ a mild cigar
▪ a mild English cheese
▷ delicate /ˈdelɪkɪt, ˈdelɪkət/ [adjective]
a delicate taste or flavour is pleasant and not very strong :
▪ The fish was served with a delicate mushroom sauce.
▪ Salmon has quite a delicate flavour, and it should not be over-cooked.
delicately [adverb]
▪ The vegetables had been cooked in a delicately flavoured marinade.
9. to find out what something tastes like
▷ taste /teɪst/ [transitive verb]
to eat or drink something in order to find out what it tastes like :
▪ You should taste my Dad’s fried chicken, it’s delicious.
▪ ‘Go on then, taste it,’ said my grandfather, pouring a little of his home-made wine into my glass.
▷ have a taste /ˌhæv ə ˈteɪst/ [verb phrase]
to eat or drink a small amount of something, to find out what it tastes like -- use this especially about something that someone has just cooked, made, or picked :
▪ That cheese looks good. Can I have a taste?
have a taste of
▪ I know Clare is a good cook. I had a taste of her pumpkin pie.
▷ try /traɪ/ [transitive verb not in passive]
to eat or drink something in order to find out if you like it :
▪ ‘Do you like goat’s milk?’ ‘I don’t know, I’ve never tried it.’
▪ Have you tried Alison’s carrot cake?
10. when someone can recognize the taste that something has
▷ can taste /kən ˈteɪst/ [verb phrase]
if you can taste something, you can recognize its taste, especially when it is with other types of food or drink :
▪ Can you taste the garlic in the sauce?
▪ Don’t pretend you haven’t put vodka in my drink - I can taste it.
▷ sense of taste /ˌsens əv ˈteɪst/ [noun phrase]
your natural ability to recognize differences between tastes :
▪ Richard’s cold has made him lose his sense of taste.
▪ Our sense of taste is closely linked to our sense of smell.