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taster

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "taster", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "taster" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "taster" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

taster is aEnglishnoun. It means: An object in which, or by which, food or drink is tasted, such as a small cup. Pronounced /teɪstɚ/. Often confused with tate and tasty.

Key facts for taster
PropertyValue
Headwordtaster
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/teɪstɚ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#41,412
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of taster in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for taster is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /teɪstɚ/. Corpus data places it at rank #41,412 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for taster, with forms such as "atster", "tasetr", and "tasster". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "tate", "tasty", "Tatar", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English taster; equivalent to taste + -er. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is taster, spelled T-A-S-T-E-R, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    An object in which, or by which, food or drink is tasted, such as a small cup.
  2. 2
    Someone who tastes something; especially, either (1) to check its quality (in food science, winemaking, etc.) or (2) as a security measure to prevent assassination of a protectee.
  3. 3
    A kind of zooid situated on the polyp-stem of certain Siphonophorae, resembling the feeding zooids, but destitute of mouths.
  4. 4
    A sample of something bigger or grander intended for future use.
  5. 5
    A person who is, by genetic makeup, able to taste phenylthiocarbamide.

Etymology

From Middle English taster; equivalent to taste + -er.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: atster,tasetr,tasster,tasterr,tastre,tastter,tatser,tsater,ttaster

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for taster

Misspelling Variants of "taster"

atster6tasetr6tasster7tasterr7tastre6tastter7tatser6tsater6
Misspelling Variants of "taster"

Frequency rank: #41,412 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "taster"?
"taster" is spelled T-A-S-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /teɪstɚ/.
What does "taster" mean?
As a noun, "taster" means: An object in which, or by which, food or drink is tasted, such as a small cup.
What words are commonly confused with "taster"?
"taster" is commonly confused with "tate", "tasty", "Tatar". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "taster"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "taster" is /teɪstɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "taster"?
From Middle English taster; equivalent to taste + -er. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter T in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.