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Definition of "zest" []

  • Flavor or interest; piquancy. (noun)
  • The outermost part of the rind of an orange, lemon, or other citrus fruit, used as flavoring. (noun)
  • Spirited enjoyment; gusto: "At 53 he retains all the heady zest of adolescence” ( Kenneth Tynan). (noun)
  • To give zest, charm, or spirit to. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "zest" in a sentence
  • "The soft, white part of the peel just underneath the zest is the pith."
  • "The zest is the colorful outer layer of the citrus peel."
  • "The pith can actually give your baked good a bitter or slightly unpleasant taste if you incorporate it into a recipe (there are some recipes that call for using a whole fruit, but those usually compensate with extra sugar), so it is important to remove only the zest from the citrus rind when you are using it."