taste

sense
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Also known as: gustation
Also called:
gustation

taste, the detection and identification by the sensory system of dissolved chemicals placed in contact with some part of an animal. Because the term taste is commonly associated with the familiar oral taste buds of vertebrates, many authorities prefer the term contact chemoreception, which has a broader connotation. See chemoreception; tongue.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Meg Matthias.