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PlainSpell

savour

sav·our/ˈseɪvəɹ/noun, verb

savour is spelled S-A-V-O-U-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (sav·our). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, savour means “An aroma or smell” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of savour is savours.

How many letters and syllables are in savour?

Letters6: S-A-V-O-U-R
Syllables2: sav·our
In writingabout once in every 2 million words; the 37,943rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is savour?

Savour appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce savour?

  • UK /ˈseɪvə/
  • US /ˈseɪvəɹ/

Savour has 2 syllables, split sav·our in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-savour.wav, En-au-saver.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with savour

Sounds like: saver (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with savour?

9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as savour from its last stressed vowel (/eɪvəɹ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of savour

  • savours plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • savor
  • savouring participle, present
  • savoured participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does savour mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    UKAn aroma or smell.

  2. 2

    UKThe quality which the sense of taste detects; also (countable), a specific flavour or taste, especially one different from the predominant one.

  3. 3

    UKAn appealing or appetizing flavour, especially one which is savoury or strong.

  4. 4

    UKA distinctive sensation like a flavour or taste, or an aroma or smell.

  5. 5

    UKA particular quality, especially a small amount of it; a hint or trace of something.

  6. 6

    UKA quality which is appealing or enjoyable; merit, value.

  7. 7

    UKarchaicA reputation.

  8. 8

    UKEnjoyment or taste for something; appreciation; pleasure; relish; (countable) an instance of this.

verb

  1. 1

    UKTo detect (a flavour or taste, or food or drink); to taste; specifically, to enjoy or linger on (a flavour or taste, or food and drink); to relish.

    He closed his eyes so he could really savour his dessert.

  2. 2

    UKTo give (food or drink) flavour; to flavour, to season.

  3. 3

    UKarchaicTo detect (an aroma or smell, especially an appealing one); to smell.

  4. 4

    UKTo enjoy (something) deeply or in a lingering manner; to appreciate, to delight in, to relish.

  5. 5

    UKTo find (something) appealing; to appreciate, to like.

  6. 6

    UKarchaicTo possess (a particular, often negative, quality), especially a small amount of it; to be redolent or suggestive of (something).

  7. 7

    UKobsoleteTo be appealing to (a person, the senses, etc.).

  8. 8

    UKobsoleteTo experience, perceive, or understand (something).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Savour in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanAroma, Geschmack (specific flavour or taste), genießen, reizvoll finden, sich schmecken lassen (to enjoy or linger on (a flavour or taste, or…), auskosten (to enjoy (something) deeply or in a lingering…)
Portuguesesabor (specific flavour or taste), saborear, sentir prazer em (to enjoy or linger on (a flavour or taste, or…)
Frenchsavourer, se délecter (to enjoy or linger on (a flavour or taste, or…), déguster (to enjoy (something) deeply or in a lingering…)
Spanishsaborear, deleitarse (to enjoy or linger on (a flavour or taste, or…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does savour come from?

From Middle English savour, from Anglo-Norman saveur, savor, savour, and Old French saveur, savor, savour (modern French saveur), from Latin sapor, from sapiō (“to taste of (something); to have a flavour”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁p-, *sep- (“to taste; to try out”)) + -or (suffix forming third-declension masculine abstract nouns). Doublet of sapor.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after savour