taste bud

noun

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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Each taste bud is capable of discerning the five primary flavors — sweet, salty, sour, bitter and savory. —

Guest, Discover Magazine, 16 May 2018 Within each taste bud are individual cells that each have between 30 to 50 taste receptors. —

Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 14 May 2022 Like dynamite, the spices from Prince’s most volatile dish explode on the palate, torching every taste bud in their path in wave after wave of assaults. —

Washington Post, 30 Apr. 2021 Many of the early toys featured McDonald's McDonaldland characters, including Grimace, the beloved purple mascot presumed to be a taste bud. —

Kelly Tyko, USA TODAY, 14 Sep. 2021 Breakfast is filled with a number of restaurants battling for taste bud supremacy, including Panera, Starbucks, Dunkin', Taco Bell and, the behemoth itself, McDonald's. —

Danielle Wiener-bronner, CNN, 11 Aug. 2021 Breakfast is filled with a number of restaurants battling for taste bud supremacy, including Panera, Starbucks, Dunkin', Taco Bell and, the behemoth itself, McDonald's. —

Danielle Wiener-bronner, CNN, 11 Aug. 2021 In a statement emailed to USA TODAY, the fast food chain wouldn't formally confirm that its beloved purple mascot is a taste bud, as presumed by a local manager in an interview. —

Brett Molina, USA TODAY, 10 Sep. 2021 Breakfast is filled with a number of restaurants battling for taste bud supremacy, including Panera, Starbucks, Dunkin', Taco Bell and, the behemoth itself, McDonald's. —

Danielle Wiener-bronner, CNN, 11 Aug. 2021 See More

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

Word History

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of taste bud was in 1879

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Taste bud.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/taste%20bud. Accessed 27 Jan. 2023.

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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