mouth-watering
/ˈmaʊθ wɔːtərɪŋ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmaʊθ wɔːtərɪŋ/ (ame, ipa)
mouth-watering — adjective
1. describes food whose appearance or smell makes you feel hungry and eager to eat
describes food whose appearance or smell makes you feel hungry and eager to eat it right away.
Elena pulled a mouth-watering apple pie from the oven and set it on the kitchen counter.
attributive: mouth-watering + food noun
The smell of Gabriel's grilled lamb skewers was absolutely mouth-watering.
predicative: be + mouth-watering
Sayaka spent the morning preparing a mouth-watering bowl of ramen for her guests.
The bakery window in Lisbon was full of mouth-watering pastries dusted with cinnamon sugar.
Vikram described the street food in Mumbai as the most mouth-watering meal of his trip.
- appetising
British spelling; same register but slightly more neutral and less vivid
- appetizing
American spelling; describes food that makes you want to eat without the strong sensory pull of mouth-watering
- delectable
more formal and literary; emphasises high quality rather than triggering hunger
- tantalising
stresses that the food is tempting and just out of reach; not strictly about appearance
- unappetising
food that looks or smells off-putting
- off-putting
more general — applies beyond food too
文法句型
mouth-watering + food noun
be + mouth-watering
用法筆記
Almost always used of food, drink, or smells of food. Object/subject is typically a dish, ingredient, smell, or aroma — not abstract things.