# taste

> English word · Noun · IPA /teɪst/ · frequency rank #1,924

## Definitions
1. One of the sensations produced by the tongue in response to certain chemicals; the quality of giving this sensation.
2. The sense that consists in the perception and interpretation of this sensation.
3. A small sample of food, drink, or recreational drugs.
4. A person's implicit set of preferences, especially esthetic, though also culinary, sartorial, etc.
5. Personal preference; liking; predilection.
6. A small amount of experience with something that gives a sense of its quality as a whole.
7. A kind of narrow and thin silk ribbon.

## Etymology
From Middle English tasten, borrowed from Old French taster, from assumed Vulgar Latin *tastāre, from assumed Vulgar Latin *taxitāre, a new iterative of Latin taxāre (“to touch sharply”), from tangere (“to touch”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-. Almost displaced native Middle English smaken, smakien (“to taste”) (from Old English smacian (“to taste”)), Middle English smecchen (“to taste, smack”) (from Old English smæċċan (“to taste”)) (whence Modern English smack), Middle English buriȝen (“to taste”) (from Old English byrigan, birian (“to taste”)).

## Easily confused with
- **tat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tat)
- **tse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tse)
- **test** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-test)
- **tate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tate)
- **tata** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tata)
- **tote** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tote)
- **taut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-taut)
- **tests** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tests)
- **toast** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-toast)
- **tasty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tasty)
- **tease** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tease)
- **trite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-trite)
- **tater** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tater)
- **tested** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tested)
- **tastes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tastes)
- **tasted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tasted)
- **tester** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-tester)
- **toasty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-toasty)
- **taster** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-taster)
- **testes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/taste-vs-testes)

## Common misspellings (6)
`atste`, `taset`, `tasste`, `tastte`, `tatse`, `ttaste`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/taste