taste bud

noun

: an end organ mediating the sensation of taste and lying chiefly in the epithelium of the tongue

Examples of taste bud in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The glaze: For taking less than 30 minutes, this sheet pan salmon recipe has so much payoff in the taste bud department. —Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 6 May 2025

There are hundreds of molecules that excite our olfactory bulbs and taste buds, and the way those molecules are gathered determines how the flavoring ingredient is categorized. —Ali Bouzari, Bon Appetit Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025

These edible aphrodisiacs not only tantalize the taste buds but also set the stage for a romantic evening. —Matt Rozo, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2025

Everyone’s taste buds are different, but many people are averse to licorice because it’s used to mask chemical flavors in medicines, namely cough syrups. —Josh Miller, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for taste bud

• waterflood
• blood
• crud
• dud
• flood
• mud
• rud
• scud
• spud
• stud
• thud
• lifeblood

Kids Definition

taste bud

noun

: any of the sense organs by means of which taste is recognized and which are usually on the surface of the tongue

Medical Definition

taste bud

noun

: an end organ that mediates the sensation of taste, lies chiefly in the epithelium of the tongue and especially in the walls of the circumvallate papillae, and consists of a conical or flask-shaped mass made up partly of supporting cells and partly of neuroepithelial sensory cells terminating peripherally in short hairlike processes which project into the pore in the overlying epithelium and by which communication with the mouth cavity is effected