What does taster mean?
Taster is a versatile noun with several closely related meanings. Most commonly, it refers to a person whose purpose is to taste food or drink and judge its flavor or quality, as in a wine taster or a product taste tester. It can also mean a small portion supplied for sampling, especially at a tasting or in a restaurant. A less common literary sense describes someone with refined or discerning taste, such as an appreciator of fine food, wine, or art. The word is formed from taste and the agent suffix -er, so its basic idea is someone who performs the act of tasting. This straightforward formation also allows the word to extend naturally from people to the samples they evaluate. Taster is useful when a sentence needs to distinguish the person doing the judging from the food or drink being judged.
nounA taster is a person who tastes food or drink, especially to assess its flavor or quality. The word can also denote a small sample provided for tasting.
- A person who tastes food or drink to assess its flavor, quality, or suitability.
- A small portion or sample of food or drink offered for tasting.
- A person regarded as having refined or discerning taste.
"The chef invited a group of tasters to sample the new menu before opening the restaurant."
"The company asked experienced tasters to evaluate several varieties of cheese."
"The visitor was offered a small taster of the region's finest honey."
The standard plural for people who taste or evaluate food and drink.
"The panel of tasters awarded the top prize to the mountain honey."
A taster began as someone who takes a taste; the word now also names the small sample itself.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does taster come from?
Taster is an English agent noun formed from taste plus the suffix -er, meaning a person who performs an action. Taste ultimately comes through Old French from Latin gustare, “to taste,” associated with gustus, “taste” or “flavor.” In English, the word developed both for a person who tastes something and, by extension, for a small sample offered for evaluation.
How taster is actually used
The word is neutral and practical in food, drink, and quality-control contexts. The sense of a person with refined taste is more literary or informal and can suggest a connoisseur.
Easily confused with taster
A taster is a person who evaluates food or drink, or a small sample of it, whereas taste refers to the flavor itself or the act of sampling something.