Umami
noun /uːˈmɑːmi/ — The fifth taste — deep, savoury, irreducibly satisfying.
Definition
A category of taste described as savory, meaty, and rich — distinct from sweet, sour, salty, and bitter; the pleasant, brothy, or meaty taste of glutamates found in aged cheeses, soy sauce, mushrooms, and slow-cooked meats.
Beyond the definition
Umami is the taste that explains why a dish is satisfying without your being able to say exactly why. It is the taste of depth — of long cooking, fermentation, ageing. Once you can identify it, you start tasting it everywhere. Parmesan, miso, anchovies, slow-cooked stock: all umami.
Origin & history
Japanese: umai (delicious, tasty) + mi (taste). Coined in 1909 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, who identified glutamate as the compound responsible for the savory depth in kelp broth.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The slow-cooked stock had an umami depth that made everything added to it taste more itself.
Anchovies dissolved into the sauce bring umami without any fishiness.
She understood that umami was what made the dish memorable — not spice but depth.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Umami” when the meaning fits your context: A category of taste described as savory, meaty, and rich — distinct from sweet, sour, salty, and bitter; the pleasant, brothy, or meaty taste of glutamates found in aged cheeses, soy sauce, mushrooms, and slow-cooked meats.
Synonyms
savouriness, savoriness, meaty taste
Antonyms
bland, one-dimensional
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Savouring Rich Simmering Sauce
A person holds crusty bread dipped in a rich, dark sauce, their expression reflecting quiet satisfaction as steam rises from the warm dish.
The image captures the sensory experience of umami by focusing on the consumption of a rich, complex sauce. Umami is the savoury, brothy taste of glutamates found in slow-cooked foods, and the visual of the person's satisfied expression highlights the deep, meaty pleasure characteristic of this specific taste category.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Umami" mean?
Umami is noun meaning: The fifth taste — deep, savoury, irreducibly satisfying.. A category of taste described as savory, meaty, and rich — distinct from sweet, sour, salty, and bitter; the pleasant, brothy, or meaty taste of glutamates found in aged cheeses, soy sauce, mushrooms, and slow-cooked meats.
Where does the word "Umami" come from?
Japanese: umai (delicious, tasty) + mi (taste). Coined in 1909 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, who identified glutamate as the compound responsible for the savory depth in kelp broth.