1 [count] : the sweet, sour, bitter, or salty quality of a thing that you can sense when it is in your mouth : the flavor that you can taste when you eat or drink something
▪ The wine had a slightly bitter taste. ▪ She likes the taste of apples and cinnamon. ▪ I detected a strong taste of ginger in the sauce. — sometimes used figuratively ▪ The experience left a bad taste in my mouth. [=the experience made me feel bad, disgusted, etc.] 2 [noncount] : the ability to notice or recognize flavors when you eat or drink : the ability to taste things
▪ The food was very pleasing to the taste. [=the food tasted very good] ▪ The illness affected her sense of taste. 3 [count] : a small amount of food or drink that you have in order to see how it tastes — usually singular ▪ May I have a taste of your ice cream? 4 [singular] : something (such as a brief experience) that gives you some knowledge about what something is like — usually + of ▪ It was her first taste of success. ▪ That first storm was just a taste of things to come. [=that storm was followed by many other storms] 5 : the feelings that each person has about what is appealing, attractive, etc. : the feelings that cause someone to like or not like something [noncount] ▪ He has no/little taste for gossip. [=he does not like gossip] ▪ The movie was not to their taste. [=they did not like the movie] ▪ The movie is intended to appeal to popular taste. [=to be liked by many or most people] ▪ Whether you like the music or not is purely a matter of taste. [=a matter of opinion] [count] ▪ She has developed/acquired a taste for Italian wine. ▪ Different people have different tastes. ▪ They have expensive tastes. [=they like expensive things] ▪ The store has something to suit all tastes. ▪ The music is too loud for my taste. [=the music is louder than I prefer it to be] — see also acquired taste at acquire 6 [noncount] a : the ability to choose what is appealing, attractive, appropriate, or enjoyable
▪ She is a person of taste. ▪ The way he dresses shows that he has no taste. ▪ She has good/poor taste in music. ▪ The room was decorated with taste. [=the room was tastefully decorated]
b — used in phrases to say that something (such as a person's speech or behavior) is or is not proper and acceptable ▪ I think the joke he told was in (very) bad/poor taste. [=was offensive] ▪ Some people felt that her behavior wasn't in good taste.