tar|tar /tɑː r tə r / (tartars )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Tartar is a hard yellowish substance that forms on your teeth and causes them to decay if it is not removed.
2 N‑COUNT If you describe someone, especially a woman in a position of authority, as a tartar , you mean that they are fierce, bad-tempered, and strict. [INFORMAL ] □ She can be quite a tartar.
3 → see also cream of tartar
ta r|tar sau ce also tartare sauce N‑UNCOUNT Tartar sauce is a thick cold sauce, usually eaten with fish, consisting of chopped onions and capers mixed with mayonnaise.
tarty /tɑː r ti/ (tartier , tartiest ) ADJ If you describe a woman or her clothes as tarty , you are critical of her because she tries to make herself look sexually attractive in a vulgar way. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ That coat made her look so tarty.
task ◆◆◇ /tɑː sk, tæ sk/ (tasks , tasking , tasked )
1 N‑COUNT A task is an activity or piece of work which you have to do, usually as part of a larger project. □ She used the day to catch up with administrative tasks.
2 VERB If you are tasked with doing a particular activity or piece of work, someone in authority asks you to do it. □ [be V -ed + with ] The minister was tasked with checking that aid money was being spent wisely.
3 PHRASE If you take someone to task , you criticize them or tell them off because of something bad or wrong that they have done. □ The country's intellectuals are being taken to task for their failure to speak out against the regime.
ta sk force ◆◇◇ (task forces ) also taskforce
1 N‑COUNT A task force is a small section of an army, navy, or air force that is sent to a particular place to deal with a military crisis. □ They are sending a naval task force to the area to evacuate civilians.
2 N‑COUNT A task force is a group of people working together on a particular task. □ We have set up a task force to look at the question of women returning to work.
task|master /tɑː skmɑːstə r , tæ skmæstə r / (taskmasters ) N‑COUNT [usu adj N ] If you refer to someone as a hard taskmaster , you mean that they expect the people they supervise to work very hard.
tas|sel /tæ s ə l/ (tassels ) N‑COUNT Tassels are bunches of short pieces of wool or other material tied together at one end and attached as decorations to something such as a piece of clothing or a lampshade.
tas|selled /tæ s ə ld/ in AM, use tasseled ADJ Tasselled means decorated with tassels. □ …tasselled cushions.
taste ◆◆◇ /te I st/ (tastes , tasting , tasted )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Taste is one of the five senses that people have. When you have food or drink in your mouth, your sense of taste makes it possible for you to recognize what it is. □ …a keen sense of taste.
2 N‑COUNT The taste of something is the individual quality which it has when you put it in your mouth and which distinguishes it from other things. For example, something may have a sweet, bitter, sour, or salty taste. □ [+ of ] I like the taste of fast food too much to give it up.
3 N‑SING If you have a taste of some food or drink, you try a small amount of it in order to see what the flavour is like. □ [+ of ] Let them have a taste of cold food but I prefer mine hot.
4 VERB [no cont] If food or drink tastes of something, it has that particular flavour, which you notice when you eat or drink it. □ [V + of/like ] It tastes like chocolate. □ [V adj] The pizza tastes delicious without any cheese at all.
5 VERB If you taste some food or drink, you eat or drink a small amount of it in order to try its flavour, for example to see if you like it or not. □ [V n] We tasted the water just to see how salty it was.
6 VERB [no passive] If you can taste something that you are eating or drinking, you are aware of its flavour. □ [V n] You can taste the chilli in the dish but it is a little sweet.
7 N‑SING If you have a taste of a particular way of life or activity, you have a brief experience of it. □ [+ of ] This voyage was his first taste of freedom.
8 VERB [no passive] If you taste something such as a way of life or a pleasure, you experience it for a short period of time. □ [V n] Anyone who has tasted this life wants it to carry on for as long as possible.
9 N‑SING If you have a taste for something, you have a liking or preference for it. □ [+ for ] That gave me a taste for reading.
10 N‑UNCOUNT A person's taste is their choice in the things that they like or buy, for example their clothes, possessions, or music. If you say that someone has good taste , you mean that you approve of their choices. If you say that they have poor taste , you disapprove of their choices. □ [+ in ] His taste in clothes is extremely good. □ Oxford's social circle was far too liberal for her taste.
11 PHRASE If you say that something that is said or done is in bad taste or in poor taste , you mean that it is offensive, often because it concerns death or sex and is inappropriate for the situation. If you say that something is in good taste , you mean that it is not offensive and that it is appropriate for the situation. □ He rejects the idea that his film is in bad taste.
12 PHRASE When a recipe tells you to add a particular spice or other flavouring to taste , it means that you can add as much of that ingredient as you like. □ Add tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste.