Adjacent Words

Zest definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ZEST, n.
1. A piece of orange or lemon peel, used to give flavor to liquor; or the fine thin oil that spurts out of it when squeezed; also, the woody thick skin quartering the kernel of a walnut.
2. Relish; something that gives a pleasant taste; or the taste itself.
ZEST, v.t.
1. To give a relish or flavor to; to highten taste or relish.
2. To cut the peel of an orange or lemon from top to bottom into thin slips; or to squeeze the peel over the surface of any thing.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment [syn: gusto, relish, zest, zestfulness]
2: a tart spicy quality [syn: nip, piquance, piquancy, piquantness, tang, tanginess, zest] v
1: add herbs or spices to [syn: zest, spice, spice up]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: obsolete French (now zeste), orange or lemon peel (used as flavoring) Date: circa 1674 1. a piece of the peel of a citrus fruit (as an orange or lemon) used as flavoring 2. an enjoyably exciting quality ; piquancy <adds zest to the performance> 3. keen enjoyment ; relish, gusto <has a zest for living> • zestful adjective • zestfully adverb • zestfulness noun • zestless adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 piquancy; a stimulating flavour or quality. 2 a keen enjoyment or interest. b (often foll. by for) relish. c gusto (entered into it with zest). 3 a scraping of orange or lemon peel as flavouring. Derivatives: zestful adj. zestfully adv. zestfulness n. zesty adj. (zestier, zestiest). Etymology: F zeste orange or lemon peel, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Zest Zest, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Zested; p. pr. & vb. n. Zesting.] 1. To cut into thin slips, as the peel of an orange, lemon, etc.; to squeeze, as peel, over the surface of anything. 2. To give a relish or flavor to; to heighten the taste or relish of; as, to zest wine. --Gibber.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Zest Zest, n. [F. zeste, probably fr. L. schistos split, cleft, divided, Gr. ?, from ? to split, cleave. Cf. Schism.] 1. A piece of orange or lemon peel, or the aromatic oil which may be squeezed from such peel, used to give flavor to liquor, etc. 2. Hence, something that gives or enhances a pleasant taste, or the taste itself; an appetizer; also, keen enjoyment; relish; gusto. Almighty Vanity! to thee they owe Their zest of pleasure, and their balm of woe. --Young. Liberality of disposition and conduct gives the highest zest and relish to social intercourse. --Gogan. 3. The woody, thick skin inclosing the kernel of a walnut. [Obs.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(zests) 1. Zest is a feeling of pleasure and enthusiasm. He has a zest for life and a quick intellect. N-UNCOUNT: also a N, oft N for n 2. Zest is a quality in an activity or situation which you find exciting. Live interviews add zest and a touch of the unexpected to any piece of research. 3. The zest of a lemon, orange, or lime is the outer skin when it is used to give flavour to something such as a cake or a drink. Mix the rest of the olive oil with the zest and juice of the lemon... N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl, usu N of n, n N

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Relish, gust, gusto, appetite. 2. Relish, flavor, savor, taste, smack, twang. 3. Relish, appetizer, sauce.

Moby Thesaurus

activity, alacrity, amusement, animal pleasure, animal spirits, animation, anxiety, anxiousness, appetite, ardor, avidity, avidness, bite, bliss, bodily pleasure, breathless impatience, brio, briskness, capersomeness, carnal delight, cheerful readiness, coltishness, comfort, content, contentment, coziness, creature comforts, delectation, delight, eagerness, ease, ecstasy, edge, elan, elation, endpleasure, enjoyment, entertainment, enthusiasm, esprit, euphoria, exuberance, fervor, flavor, forepleasure, forwardness, friskiness, frolicsomeness, fruition, fun, gaiety, gamesomeness, gayness, ginger, glow, gratification, great satisfaction, gust, gusto, guts, heart, heartiness, hearty enjoyment, hotness, hunger, impatience, impetuosity, impetus, intellectual pleasure, interest, joie de vivre, keen desire, keen pleasure, keenness, kick, kicks, life, liveliness, lustiness, luxury, mettle, nip, nippiness, palate, passion, pepper, pepperiness, perkiness, pertness, physical pleasure, piquancy, piss and vinegar, playfulness, pleasure, promptness, punch, pungency, quickness, quiet pleasure, raciness, readiness, relish, robustness, rollicksomeness, rompishness, satisfaction, savor, self-gratification, self-indulgence, sensual pleasure, sensuous pleasure, sexual pleasure, skittishness, snap, snappiness, spice, spiciness, spirit, spiritedness, spirits, sportiveness, sprightliness, sweetness of life, tang, tanginess, thirst, titillation, verve, vigor, vim, vitality, vivacity, voluptuousness, warmth, well-being, zeal, zestfulness, zing, zip