taste 1 S2 W2 / teɪst / 名词 #

1 food

a) [可数和不可数名词] the feeling that is produced by a particular food or drink when you put it in your mouth 同义词 flavour :

The medicine had a slightly bitter taste.

taste of

I don’t really like the taste of meat any more.

b) [不可数名词] 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 [可数和不可数名词] the kind of things that someone likes

taste in

He asked about my taste in music.

taste for

While she was in France she developed a taste for fine wines.

3 judgment [不可数名词] 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 [不可数名词] 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 [通常单数形式] 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 [单数形式] 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 )

COLLOCATIONS

形容词

delicious The taste was absolutely delicious. | a delicious creamy taste

nasty/unpleasant Some tablets have a nasty taste.

strange/odd/peculiar/funny The sweets had a rather peculiar taste.

strong This cheese has quite a strong taste.

mild The taste of the leaves is milder than the root.

sweet The fruits have an excellent sweet taste.

bitter The brandy would not have masked the bitter taste of the poison.

sour The purpose of the lemon’s sour taste may be to stop the fruit being eaten by animals.

salty He was conscious of the salty taste of his own blood.

spicy Add a little curry powder to give it a spicy taste.

creamy/buttery/fruity/nutty etc (= tasting of cream, butter etc ) The cookies had a very buttery taste.

bland (= not strong or interesting ) Some people find the taste of rice too bland.

distinctive Hops give beer its distinctive bitter taste.

动词

have a sweet/strange etc taste The soup had a funny taste.

give something a taste The spices gave the bread a rather interesting taste.

COMMON ERRORS

► Do not say ’ it is sweet taste ’ or ’ it is nice taste ‘. Say it has a sweet taste or it has a nice taste .

COLLOCATIONS

形容词

similar/the same We have similar musical tastes.

same/similar/different Their tastes in movies were very different.

expensive/sophisticated He was a man of expensive tastes (= he liked expensive things. )

simple He was a man of simple tastes (= he liked simple things )

eclectic (= liking a wide variety of different things ) My tastes are very eclectic.

musical/literary/artistic taste His musical tastes changed radically.

your personal taste Which one you choose is a question of personal taste.

public/popular taste The shop created a unique style of goods that appealed to the popular taste.

an acquired taste (= something that people do not like at first ) This kind of tea is an acquired taste, but very refreshing.

consumer tastes Changes in consumer tastes result in the expansion of some industries and the contraction of others.

动词

have … tastes Josh and I have the same tastes.

have a taste for something (= like something ) She certainly has a taste for adventure.

get/develop a taste for something ( also acquire a taste for something formal ) (= to start to like something ) At university she developed a taste for performing.

share a taste (= have the same taste as someone else ) You obviously share her taste in literature.

suit/satisfy/appeal to sb’s tastes (= provide what someone likes ) We have music to suit every taste. | The magazine caters for all tastes.

短语

be to sb’s taste (= be something that someone likes ) If her books are not to your taste, there are plenty of books by other writers.

be too bright/modern etc for sb’s taste The building was too modern for my taste.

something is a matter of taste (= different people have different opinions about what is good or right ) Which of the two methods you use is largely a matter of taste.

there’s no accounting for taste (= used humorously to say that you do not understand why someone likes something )

THESAURUS

describing the taste of something

delicious having a very good taste : This cake is delicious! | a delicious meal

disgusting/revolting having a very bad taste : The medicine tasted disgusting. | They had to eat revolting things, like fish eyes.

sweet tasting full of sugar : The oranges were very sweet.

tasty especially spoken tasting good and with plenty of flavour : She cooked us a simple but tasty meal. | That was really tasty!

sour/tart having a taste that stings your tongue slightly, like lemon does – used especially when this is rather unpleasant : The apples were a little sour. | The wine has rather a tart taste, which not everyone will like.

tangy having a taste that stings your tongue slightly, like lemon does, in a way that seems good : The dressing was nice and tangy.

bitter having a strong taste which is not sweet and is sometimes rather unpleasant – used for example about black coffee, or chocolate without sugar : bitter chocolate | The medicine had rather a bitter taste. | Hops give beer its distinctive bitter taste.

salty containing a lot of salt : Danish salami has a salty flavour.

hot/spicy having a burning taste because it contains strong spices : I love hot curries. | a spicy tomato sauce

piquant / pikənt / formal a little spicy – used especially by people who write about food. This word can sound rather pretentious in everyday conversation : cooked vegetables in a piquant sauce

mild not having a strong or hot taste – usually used about foods that can sometimes be spicy : a mild curry

bland not having an interesting taste : I found the sauce rather bland.

taste 2 S2 verb #

1 [连系动词] to have a particular kind of taste taste good/delicious/sweet/fresh etc Mmm! This tastes good! The food tasted better than it looked. taste awful/disgusting etc The coffee tasted awful. taste of something This yoghurt tastes of strawberries. It didn’t taste much of ginger. taste like something It tastes just like champagne to me. What does pumpkin taste like (= how would you describe its taste ) ? sweet-tasting/bitter-tasting etc a sweet-tasting soup 2 [及物动词，不用于进行时] to experience or recognize the taste of food or drink :
She could taste blood. Can you taste the difference? It was like nothing I’d ever tasted before. 3 [及物动词] to eat or drink a small amount of something to see what it is like :
It’s always best to keep tasting the food while you’re cooking it. 4 taste success/freedom/victory etc to have a short experience of something that you want more of :
There was a lot of hard work before we first tasted success.

COLLOCATIONS

adjectives taste good/nice/delicious/great The apples weren’t very big but they tasted good. taste horrible/awful/disgusting/foul The tea tasted horrible. taste funny/odd/strange These fruit drinks taste a bit funny until you get used to them. taste sweet/bitter/sour/salty He handed me some black stuff which tasted bitter.

adverbs taste strongly of something The water tasted strongly of chlorine.

phrases sweet-tasting/strong-tasting etc a sweet-tasting drink