taster

noun6

1. •
   Someone who tastes something; especially, either (1) to check its quality (in food science, winemaking, etc.) or (2) as a security measure to prevent assassination of a protectee.

   • Big companies such as P&G or Kraft Heinz employ or contract with professional tasters who help with product development.
   • Being a cook for protectees also entails being a taster for them.
2. •
   A sample of something bigger or grander intended for future use.

   • The Kraft Heinz exhibit at the trade fair was a taster of new snack products set to hit the market soon.
   • The Samsung exhibit at the trade fair was a taster of new consumer electronic products set to hit the market soon.
3. •
   An object in which, or by which, food or drink is tasted, such as a small cup or spoon.

   • A flight of tasters was served to the people who would vote on the next soda flavor to be released.
4. •
   A person who is, by genetic makeup, able to taste phenylthiocarbamide.
5. •
   A kind of zooid situated on the polyp-stem of certain Siphonophorae, resembling the feeding zooids, but destitute of mouths.
6. •
   (historical) A unit of volume equivalent to a Roman cyathus.