Meaning & use
tastes
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“tastes” is a form of “taste”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verblinking
Has a particular flavor when you eat or drink it.
Grammar: Links the food to an adjective or noun: The coffee tastes bitter. No object is used.
Patterns
- something tastes good/bad
- something tastes like something
- something tastes of something
This soup tastes a bit salty, so add some water.
The milk tastes sour — I think it has gone bad.
Her homemade bread tastes like the kind my grandmother made.
verbtransitive
Eats or drinks a small amount of something to find out what it is like.
Grammar: Takes an object: taste the sauce. This use is about checking, not about flavor.
Patterns
- taste something
- taste something for someone
The chef tastes the sauce before serving it.
Would you like to taste the cake to see if it needs more sugar?
nouncountable or uncountable
The flavor that food or drink has in your mouth.
Grammar: Countable when talking about kinds of flavor: a nutty taste. Uncountable when talking about the quality in general: a strong taste of garlic.
Patterns
- a taste of something
- have a taste
- a sweet/bitter/salty taste
This cheese has a strong, sharp taste.
I don't like the taste of coffee without milk.
There was a strange taste in the water.
nouncountable or uncountable
A liking for something, or the ability to judge what is good in art, music, or style.
Grammar: Often followed by 'for': a taste for adventure. Uncountable when it means good judgment: She has excellent taste.
Patterns
- a taste for something
- have good/bad taste
- to someone's taste
He developed a taste for spicy food while living abroad.
She has very good taste in clothes.
The room was decorated in poor taste.
nounsingular
A small amount of food or drink taken to try it.
Grammar: Usually used with 'a': a taste of the soup. It is not plural in this sense.
Patterns
- a taste of something
- just a taste
Would you like a taste of this sauce?
I only had a taste of the wine, since I was driving.
Word forms
| third person singular | tastes |
|---|---|
| past tense | tasted |
| past participle | tasted |
| -ing form | tasting |
| plural noun | tastes |
Common combinations
- taste like
- These berries taste like strawberries.
- taste of
- The cake tastes of lemon.
- a taste for
- She has a taste for expensive jewelry.
- in good taste
- His remarks were not in good taste.
- to someone's taste
- The music wasn't really to my taste.
- acquire a taste for
- It takes time to acquire a taste for strong cheese.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flavor
- Flavor is the usual noun for the quality of food in your mouth; taste also covers the act of trying food and a person's preferences.
- savor
- Savor means to enjoy a flavor slowly and deliberately, while taste is the neutral act of noticing or checking flavor.
- sample
- Sample means to try a small amount, often in a formal or testing situation; taste is the everyday word.
Word family
- tasteful adjective
- Showing good judgment in style; not offensive or showy.
- tasteless adjective
- Having no flavor, or showing bad judgment and poor style.
- tasty adjective
- Having a pleasant flavor; informal and common in everyday speech.
- tasting noun
- An event where people try different foods or drinks, such as a wine tasting.
- taster noun
- A person whose job is to try food or drink to judge its quality.
Commonly confused: tastes or test?
tastes vs test
Test means to check how well something works or how much someone knows; taste means to try food or drink to check its flavor.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'tastes' correctly as a linking verb?
Choose one answer.
'Tastes' as a linking verb connects the food to an adjective describing its flavor, so 'The soup tastes delicious' is correct. Option 0 uses 'tastes' transitively (she tastes the soup), which is also correct but not linking. Option 2 uses the wrong preposition, and option 3 wrongly uses an adverb after a linking verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tastes”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.