VocabauraVOCABAURA

savour

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The quality which the sense of taste detects.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

sayver

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈseɪvɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. countablechiefly in the negative

    An appealing or appetizing flavour, especially one which is savoury or strong.

  2. uncountable

    The quality which the sense of taste detects; also (countable), a specific flavour or taste, especially one different from the predominant one.

  3. figurativeuncountable

    Enjoyment or taste for something; appreciation; pleasure; relish; (countable) an instance of this.

  4. figurativecountable

    A distinctive sensation like a flavour or taste, or an aroma or smell.

  5. figurativecountable

    A particular quality, especially a small amount of it; a hint or trace of something.

  6. figurativecountablechiefly in the negative

    A quality which is appealing or enjoyable; merit, value.

verb

  1. transitive

    To detect (a flavour or taste, or food or drink); to taste; specifically, to enjoy or linger on (a flavour or taste, or food and drink); to relish.

  2. Give taste to

  3. transitive

    To give (food or drink) flavour; to flavour, to season.

  4. transitivefigurative

    To enjoy (something) deeply or in a lingering manner; to appreciate, to delight in, to relish.

  5. transitivefigurative

    (chiefly in the negative) To find (something) appealing; to appreciate, to like.

  6. intransitivefigurative

    To possess a particular (often negative) quality, especially a small amount of it; to be redolent or suggestive of.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: An appealing or appetizing flavour, especially one which is savoury or strong.

Used this way, savour is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “savour”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

sweet savoursmelling savour

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: appealing or appetizing flavour

relish

verb

Sense: to detect (a flavour or taste or or food

savorrelish

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “savour” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.