savory applies to both taste and aroma and suggests piquancy and often spiciness.

1. Appetizing to the taste or smell: a savory stew. 2. Piquant, pungent, or salty to the taste; not sweet. 3. Morally respectable; inoffensive: a past that was scarcely savory.

If you say that something is not savory, you mean that it is not pleasant or socially acceptable:

Savory can describe food that is not sweet and has a rich, flavorful taste. It is often used to indicate something that is appetizing and has a complex, enjoyable flavor.

Jan 20, 2026 · Adjective savory (comparative savorier, superlative savoriest) (American spelling) Tasty, attractive to the palate.

Something savory is full of flavor, delicious and tasty — usually something that someone has cooked. In the world of cuisine, savory is also often used to mean the opposite of sweet, or salty.

Savory food has a salty or spicy flavor rather than a sweet one. ...all sorts of sweet and savory breads.

SAVORY meaning: 1 : having a pleasant taste or smell; 2 : having a spicy or salty quality without being sweet

Definition of savory adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

SAVORY definition: having a salty, spicy, or piquant flavor; not sweet. See examples of savory used in a sentence.