taste

noun

/teɪst/

Idioms

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of food and drink

[countable, uncountable] the particular quality that different foods and drinks have that allows you to recognize them when you put them in your mouth

a sweet/salty/bitter/sour taste
I don't like the taste of olives.
This dish has an unusual combination of tastes and textures.
The soup has very little taste.

Wordfinder

binge
calorie
diet
digest
eat
fattening
food
meal
restaurant
taste

Wordfinder

bitter
bland
hot
pungent
savoury
sour
spicy
sweet
tart
taste

Extra Examples

Don't have a cigarette now—you'll spoil the taste of your food!
He sensed the taste of blood in his mouth.
I had a strong coffee to take away the nasty taste of the food.
She savoured the taste of the champagne.
The drink left a bitter taste in his mouth.
You need to use fresh herbs to get the authentic Italian taste.

Topics Cooking and eatinga2

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

delicious
fresh
nice
…

verb + taste

have
leave
affect
…

taste + noun

buds

See full entry

sense

[uncountable] the sense you have that allows you to recognize different foods and drinks when you put them in your mouth

I've lost my sense of taste.

small quantity

[countable, usually singular] a small quantity of food or drink that you try in order to see what it is like

Just have a taste of this cheese.
Do you want a taste?

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

brief
little
small
…

verb + taste

get
have
taste
…

preposition

taste of

phrases

a taste of things to come

See full entry

short experience

[singular] a short experience of something

This was my first taste of live theatre.
Although we didn't know it, this incident was a taste of things to come.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

brief
little
small
…

verb + taste

get
have
taste
…

preposition

taste of

phrases

a taste of things to come

See full entry

ability to choose well

[uncountable] a person’s ability to choose things that people recognize as being of good quality or appropriate

taste in something He has very good taste in music.
They've got more money than taste.
She's famous for her impeccable taste and style.

Extra Examples

The room was furnished with taste.
The remark showed a deplorable lack of taste.
The designer has exercised good taste in her choice of fabrics.
Her work is executed with impeccable taste.
Contemporary arbiters of taste dismissed his paintings as rubbish.

Topics Preferences and decisionsb2

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

excellent
exquisite
fine
…

verb + taste

reflect
show
exercise
…

preposition

in … taste
with taste
taste in
…

phrases

an arbiter of taste
in the best possible taste
in the worst possible taste
…

See full entry

what you like

[countable, uncountable] what a person likes or prefers

You can adapt the recipe to suit your personal taste.
taste for something That trip gave me a taste for foreign travel.
to develop/acquire a taste for luxury
taste in something He has very expensive taste in clothes.
The colour and style is a matter of personal taste
to somebody's taste Modern art is not to everyone's taste.

Extra Examples

There are trips to suit all tastes.
They have a taste for adventure.
Her choice of outfit demonstrated her taste for the outrageous.
Now he is retired he has time to indulge his tastes for writing and politics.
People with a taste for complex plots will enjoy this book.
Her music appeals to popular taste.
His tastes run to the exotic.
If fishing is not to your taste, there are many other leisure activities on offer.
The house reflected his tastes.
The music was too modern for my taste.
You obviously share her taste in reading.
He has an unusual taste in music.

Topics Preferences and decisionsb2

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

catholic
eclectic
varied
…

verb + taste

have
like
share
…

taste + verb

lie
run
change
…

preposition

for somebody’s taste
to taste
to your taste
…

phrases

a man/woman of … tastes
a matter of (personal) taste
a wide range/variety of tastes
…

See full entry

Word OriginMiddle English (also in the sense ‘touch’): from Old French tast (noun), taster (verb) ‘touch, try, taste’, perhaps based on a blend of Latin tangere ‘to touch’ and gustare ‘to taste’.

Idioms

an acquired taste

a thing that you do not like much at first but gradually learn to like
- Abstract art is an acquired taste.
Topics Preferences and decisionsc2

be in bad, poor, the worst possible, etc. taste

to be offensive and not at all appropriate
- Most of his jokes were in very poor taste.

be in good, the best possible, etc. taste

to be appropriate and not at all offensive
- The love scenes are all done in the best possible taste.

leave a bad/nasty taste in the mouth

(of events or experiences) to make you feel upset or ashamed afterwards
- The whole business left a bad taste in my mouth.

a taste/dose of your own medicine

the same bad treatment that you have given to others
- Let the bully have a taste of his own medicine.

there’s no accounting for taste

(saying) used to say how difficult it is to understand why somebody likes somebody/something that you do not like at all
- She thinks he's wonderful—oh well, there's no accounting for taste.

to taste

in the quantity that is needed to make something taste the way you prefer
- Add salt and pepper to taste.

taste

verb

/teɪst/

not usually used in the progressive tenses

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they taste	/teɪst/ /teɪst/
he / she / it tastes	/teɪsts/ /teɪsts/
past simple tasted	/ˈteɪstɪd/ /ˈteɪstɪd/
past participle tasted	/ˈteɪstɪd/ /ˈteɪstɪd/
past simple tasting	/ˈteɪstɪŋ/ /ˈteɪstɪŋ/
past participle tasting	/ˈteɪstɪŋ/ /ˈteɪstɪŋ/

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have taste

linking verb to have a particular taste

+ adj. to taste good/delicious/sweet
taste like something This drink tastes like sherry.
taste of something The ice tasted of mint.

Grammar Point want / like / love / hate / thinkwant / like / love / hate / think

These verbs belong to a group known as stative verbs because they describe a state rather than an action (although think can describe either an action or a state). Stative verbs are not usually used in the progressive tenses. However, it is becoming more common for some stative verbs to be used with progressive tenses. Stative verbs such as want, like, love, hate and think are sometimes used in informal language to describe a state at a particular moment, or a state that continues for a period of time:
- Why are you wanting a new phone when your current one works perfectly well?
- What shall we do tonight? I’m thinking bowling.
- I’m loving the weather today!
Other stative verbs that can be used this way include prefer, remember, taste and understand

Extra Examples

The fish tasted faintly of garlic.
The water tasted strongly of chemicals.
The fruit tasted rather like mango.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

strongly
faintly
slightly
…

preposition

phrases

taste awful
taste bad
taste bitter
…

See full entry

-tasting

(in adjectives) having a particular taste

foul-tasting medicine

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

strongly
faintly
slightly
…

preposition

phrases

taste awful
taste bad
taste bitter
…

See full entry

recognize taste

[transitive] taste something (often used with can or could) to be able to recognize tastes in food and drink

You can taste the garlic in this stew.
I can't really taste anything with this cold.

test taste

[transitive] taste something to test the taste of something by eating or drinking a small amount of it synonym try

Taste it and see if you think there's enough salt in it.
Would you like to taste the wine?

Topics Cooking and eatinga2

eat/drink

[transitive] taste something to eat or drink food or liquid

That's the best ice cream I've ever tasted.
I've never tasted anything like it.
I haven't tasted meat since I started the journey.

have short experience

[transitive] taste something to have a short experience of something, especially something that you want more of

He had tasted freedom only to lose it again.