Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

taste

1 noun
     
taste1 S2 W2
1

food

a) [uncountable and countable] the feeling that is produced by a particular food or drink when you put it in your mouth [= flavour]
have a sweet/bitter/salty etc taste
The medicine had a slightly bitter taste.
taste of
I don't really like the taste of meat any more.
b) [uncountable]HB the sense by which you know one food from another:
Some birds have a highly developed sense of taste.
c)

have a taste (of something)

if you have a taste of some food or drink, you put a small amount in your mouth to try it:
You must have a taste of the fruitcake.
2

what you like

[uncountable and countable] the kind of things that someone likesCOLLOCATIONS COLLOCATIONS
taste in music/clothes/men etc have similar/different tastes develop/acquire a taste for something (=start to like something) suit/satisfy/cater for somebody's tastes (=provide what someone likes) have expensive tastes (=like expensive things) something is a matter of taste (=it depends on what kind of things you like) personal taste musical taste (=the kind of music someone likes) be too bright/modern/dark etc for somebody's taste (=used when saying that you did not like something because it was too bright, modern, dark etc) be to somebody's taste (=if something is to your taste, you like it) there's no accounting for taste (=used humorously to say that you do not understand why someone has chosen something) something is an acquired taste (=people only usually start to like something after they have tried it several times)
taste in
We have similar tastes in music.
taste for
While she was in France she developed a taste for fine wines.
There are books to suit everyone's tastes.
My wife has very expensive tastes.
Choosing a wedding dress is all a matter of personal taste.
His musical tastes changed radically as soon as he started college.
The colours were much too bright for my taste.
This type of event isn't to everyone's taste.
'Why did she marry someone like that?' ' There's no accounting for taste.'
Olives are something of an acquired taste.
3

judgment

[uncountable] someone's judgment when they choose clothes, decorations etc
have good/bad etc taste
She has such good taste.
taste in
Some people have really bad taste in clothes.
4

what is acceptable/not offensive

[uncountable] the quality of being acceptable and not offensive:
All television companies accept the need to maintain standards of taste and decency.
be in bad/poor etc taste (=likely to offend people)
She acknowledged her remark had been in bad taste.
5

experience

[usually singular] a short experience of something that shows you what it is like
taste of
Schoolchildren can get a taste of the countryside first-hand.
It gave him his first taste of acting for the big screen.
The autumn storms gave us a taste of what was to come (=showed what would happen later).
6

feeling

[singular] the feeling that you have after an experience, especially a bad experience:
The way he spoke to those children left a nasty taste in my mouth.
the bitter taste of failure
the sweet taste of victory
7

... to taste

if you add salt, spices etc to taste, you add as much as you think makes it taste right - used in instructions in cook books:
Add salt to taste.

➔ give somebody a taste of their own medicine

at medicine (4)WORD FOCUS: taste WORD FOCUS: taste
delicious/tasty tastes very good
disgusting tastes very bad
hot/spicy has a lot of spices
bland boring and with not very much taste
sweet has a lot of sugar
salty has a lot of salt
sour used about fruit that is not sweet
bitter used about coffee, chocolate, or medicine that is not at all sweettaste ➔ flavour
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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