mouthfeel

noun mouth·feel \ ˈmau̇th-ˌfēl \

|Updated on: 22 Jul 2018

Definition of mouthfeel

: the sensation created by food or drink in the mouth

mouthfeel was our Word of the Day on 01/11/2008. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of mouthfeel from the Web

Peterson is working in a long, long tradition of conservatives, from Galton to Rockefeller to Reagan, using weak scientific data to give their dogma the mouthfeel of objectivity.

— laurie penny, Longreads, "Peterson’s Complaint," 12 July 2018
The better the filter, the less sediment there will be at the end, which adds a gritty mouthfeel to your coffee, which is undesirable to many.

— jeffrey van camp, WIRED, "The 6 Best Cold Brew Coffee Makers You Can Buy," 22 June 2018
Kim uses chickpea rather than wheat flour—a nod to Ligurian farinata—which makes the pancake refuse to rise and gives it a dry, grainy mouthfeel.

— mike sula, Chicago Reader, "Andersonville’s Passerotto is a tale of two peninsulas," 21 June 2018
For connoisseurs of risque humor, an oil’s mouthfeel also pairs exquisitely with jokes about extra virgins.

— ted trautman, San Francisco Chronicle, "California’s olive oil craze: rooted in the far north counties," 7 June 2018
Drawing from several Lodi vineyards, with vines averaging 86 years old, this wine had a silky mouthfeel that delivered jammy berries and dark fruit, herbs, damp earth, cigar box and a mocha finish.

— michael austin, chicagotribune.com, "15 zinfandels to drink with whatever meat you're grilling," 23 May 2018
Having a lower overrun, a term that refers to the amount of air incorporated into ice cream, also contributes to an appealing mouthfeel, according to Simons.

— lisa drayer, CNN, "What makes ice cream so addictive?," 2 May 2018
Floral, with plum, dark fruits, ripe dark cherry, cranberry, leather, black pepper and chocolate, this 95 percent zinfandel/5 percent petite sirah blend had a velvety mouthfeel.

— michael austin, chicagotribune.com, "15 zinfandels to drink with whatever meat you're grilling," 23 May 2018
There was slight tingly carbonation and a nice, bright mouthfeel during the first and subsequent sips.

— todd haefer, the (appleton, USA TODAY, "Beer Man: Sweet Rekorderlig cider is still crisp, refreshing," 22 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mouthfeel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Do you sometimes find yourself trying to describe a concept or phenomenon for which you don't have a word? In such cases, it is not unusual for people to coin neologisms (new words or expressions) to describe such concepts or phenomena - the pink glow on the underside of gray clouds right before sunset, for example, or the sensation created in the mouth by a particular item of food or drink. Indeed, this latter concept has already been given a name, "mouthfeel," a simple combination of "mouth" and "feel" that can be used to describe the creamy warmth of a mushroom soup or the dry, velvety sensation of a pinot noir. This coinage is relatively new; its earliest known use dates back only to 1951.