What does tasty mean?
Tasty is an informal adjective meaning that something is pleasing to eat or drink. It is especially common when describing food, as in “a tasty meal” or “a tasty treat,” and usually conveys a warm, enthusiastic approval rather than formal or culinary precision. In informal figurative contexts, tasty can describe anything interesting or attractive, such as a program, a story, or a new idea. The word is understood throughout Britain and North America, though it is more conversational than adjectives such as delicious or appetizing. Tasty belongs to the broader English word family based on taste, including tasteful, tasteless, tastiness, and tastily. Its simple meaning is straightforward, but its enthusiastic tone makes it useful for expressing pleasure, enthusiasm, and invitation: calling something tasty suggests that it is not only appealing but worth trying again.
adjectivePleasing to the taste; appetizing or delicious. Informally, it can also mean interesting or attractive.
- Pleasing to the taste; appetizing or delicious.
- Interesting, attractive, or appealing, especially in informal contexts.
"She brought us a tasty casserole for dinner."
"The bakery sells a tasty selection of breads and pastries."
"The team has developed a tasty new tool for working with data."
The “-y” in tasty turns an act of tasting into a promise of pleasure.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tasty come from?
Tasty is an English adjective formed from the noun taste and the suffix -y, which is used here to make an adjective meaning “having taste” and, by extension, “pleasing to the palate.” Taste itself entered Middle English from Old French taster, ultimately from Latin gustare, “to taste.” The same English root also underlies tasteful, tasteless, and tastiness, while tasty has the additional derived forms tastily and tastiness.
Related word forms
How tasty is actually used
Informal and strongly associated with food. Its figurative use, as in “a tasty piece of software,” is also informal and generally conveys approval or appeal.
Easily confused with tasty
Tasty means pleasing to the palate, whereas tasteless means lacking flavor or, figuratively, showing poor taste or sensitivity.