the food served and eaten especially at one of the customary, regular occasions for taking food during the day, as breakfast, lunch, or supper.
one of these regular occasions or times for eating food.
a coarse, unsifted powder ground from the edible seeds of any grain.
wheat meal;
cornmeal.
any ground or powdery substance, as of nuts or seeds, resembling this.
any of the regular occasions, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc, when food is served and eaten
( in combination )
mealtime
the food served and eaten
informal to perform (a task) with unnecessarily great effort
the edible part of a grain or pulse (excluding wheat) ground to a coarse powder, used chiefly as animal food
oatmeal
maize flour
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English mǣl “measure, fixed time, occasion”; cognate with German Mal “time,” Mahl “meal,” Old Norse māl, Gothic mēl “time, hour”
First recorded before 900; Middle English mele, Old English melu; cognate with German Mehl, Dutch meel, Old Norse mjǫl, Gothic malan; akin to Latin molere “to grind” ( see mill 1)
Middle English -mele, Old English -mǣlum, combining form representing mǣl meal 1
When you eat a meal, you sit down and dine on food. Breakfast is usually the first meal of the day, but if you oversleep your first meal might be lunch instead. You can use the word meal to talk about the occasion (like dinner or brunch), or about the food itself. For example, you might say that chili and cornbread is your favorite meal during the colder months, or that a fast food hamburger eaten in the car is a poor excuse for a meal. Yet another meaning of meal is "edible ground grain or beans," like cornmeal or soybean meal.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“KPop Demon Hunters” has appeal among almost all age groups — in fact, the McDonald’s offer is even described as an “adult meal,” not a children’s Happy Meal.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 25, 2026
Over the past 21 months, we’ve introduced $5 Meal Deals, launched the McValue platform with “buy one, add one for $1” options and brought back Extra Value Meals with discounts on popular combos.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026
The note - which was posted on social media - accompanied a few snacks that the comedian dubbed a "Conan O'Brien 'Moderately Happy Meal'."
From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026
Carleigh Bodrug’s “Scrappy Cooking” and Tamar Adler’s “The Everlasting Meal Cookbook” are brilliant companions for this mindset, offering clever, unexpected ways to elevate what might otherwise be scraps.
From Salon • Dec. 28, 2025
Great—I can't even get a Happy Meal unless my daddy or mommy buys it for me.
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
