Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Distinctive taste; savor.
  • noun A distinctive yet intangible quality felt to be characteristic of a given thing.
  • noun A flavoring.
  • noun Any of six types of quark (down, up, strange, charm, bottom, top), distinguished by generation, electric charge, and mass.
  • noun Any of six types of lepton (electron, electron neutrino, muon, muon neutrino, tauon, tau neutrino), distinguished by generation, electric charge, and mass.
  • noun Archaic Aroma; fragrance.
  • transitive verb To give flavor to.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The quality of a substance which affects the smell; smell; odor; fragrance: as, the flavor of the rose.
  • noun The quality of a substance which affects the taste, especially that quality which gratifies the palate; relish; zest: as, the flavor of the peach, of wine, etc.; a spicy flavor.
  • noun Figuratively, the quality of anything which affects the mental taste or perception, especially in a pleasurable way; characteristic fitness, congruity, impressiveness, or the like, particularly from a literary or artistic point of view.
  • noun That which imparts flavor; a flavoring substance or essence.
  • To communicate flavor or some quality of taste or smell to; hence, to communicate any distinctive quality to.
  • To add a flavoring substance or admixture to.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To give flavor to; to add something (as salt or a spice) to, to give character or zest.
  • noun That quality of anything which affects the smell; odor; fragrances.
  • noun That quality of anything which affects the taste; that quality which gratifies the palate; relish; zest; savor.
  • noun That which imparts to anything a peculiar odor or taste, gratifying to the sense of smell, or the nicer perceptions of the palate; a substance which flavors.
  • noun That quality which gives character to any of the productions of literature or the fine arts.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The quality produced by the sensation of taste.
  • noun A substance used to produce a taste; flavoring.
  • noun A variety of tastes attributed to an object.
  • noun The characteristic quality of something.
  • noun A type of something.
  • noun physics a term used to name the six types of quarks (top, bottom, strange, charmed, up, and down) or three types of leptons (electron, muon, and tauon).
  • verb transitive To add flavoring to (something).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb lend flavor to
  • noun (physics) the six kinds of quarks
  • noun the taste experience when a savoury condiment is taken into the mouth
  • noun the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English flavour, aroma, from Old French flaor (perhaps influenced in form by Middle English savour, taste, savor), from Vulgar Latin *flātor, from Latin flāre, to blow; see bhlē- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English meaning "smell, odor", usually pleasing, from Old French flaour ("smell, odor"), from Vulgar Latin flator ("odor, that which blows"), from Latin flator ("blower"), from flare ("to blow, puff")

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word flavor.

Examples

  • One might say, to be sure, that they were a little saltish, and then again, with that exception, there was no remarkable flavor; but that might be the rarity, _not to have any flavor_.

    The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, April 1844 Volume 23, Number 4 Various 1840

  • Most spring rolls are known to be delicate in flavor and light/healthy but these must be the bad sheep in the family because they explode in your mouth with intense flavor from the dried shrimp and dipping sauce.

    The "Other" Spring Roll 2009

  • Most spring rolls are known to be delicate in flavor and light/healthy but these must be the bad sheep in the family because they explode in your mouth with intense flavor from the dried shrimp and dipping sauce.

    Archive 2009-03-01 2009

  • The cumin flavor is very light, so if you like your cumin I'd double it.

    Archive 2006-11-01 2006

  • "Barbeque Bobs" carries the produce and the difference in flavor is undeniable.

    produce in SMA 2005

  • "Oh, Antony the flavor is amazing," Ms. Gregory said of the spicy jam.

    Seeking Inside Scoop On City Entertaining Marshall Heyman 2010

  • They learn the processes involved in preparing Mexican food, where the flavor is achieved by doing things by hand.

    A Traditional Mexican Cooking School: An Interview with Recipes 2006

  • They learn the processes involved in preparing Mexican food, where the flavor is achieved by doing things by hand.

    A Traditional Mexican Cooking School: An Interview with Recipes 2006

  • You don't need a recipe and the flavor is always outstanding.

    Light Vegetable Stock ♥ | A Veggie Venture 2005

  • I have since taught the recipe to many students, all of whom say that the flavor is addictive and it ruins them for eating hot and sour soup out in restaurants.

    Tigers & Strawberries » Soup to Raise the Dead 2005

  • Because it was my first time making the recipe, there was plenty to discuss (cook time, flavor profile, texture, and quantity). Another baked brie tasting was definitely in our immediate future.

    How a Test Cook Keeps a Food Diary | America's Test Kitchen Lawman Johnson 2016

  • When we talk about flavor, we’re talking about much more than just taste (although that’s an important component!) What we’re actually talking about is a trifecta of taste, aroma, and mouthfeel. These three factors combine to create the total experience of a dish—in other words, the dish’s flavor profile.

    How Culinary Students Explore Flavor Profiles Escoffier Team 2024

  • For example, a common Southeast Asian flavor profile might be lime, fish sauce, chili peppers, and galangal. Or a Japanese flavor profile could be something like Tamari, bonito, kombu, mushrooms. Italian? onion, celery, basil, oregano, lemon, olive oil. Creole? Onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, thyme, allspice, cayenne.

    What does flavor profile mean? 2025

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • There are six different types of quark, usually known as flavors: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom.

    February 7, 2008