meat

[ meet ]

noun

1. the flesh of animals as used for food: in particular, mammals, especially livestock and game, and often including poultry and game birds. flesh ( def 1 ), muscle meat ( def ).
2. the edible part of anything, as a fruit or nut:

   Crack the walnuts and remove the meats.

3. the essential point or part of an argument, literary work, etc.; gist; crux:

   The meat of the play is the jealousy between the two brothers.

4. solid food:

   meat and drink.

5. solid or substantial content; pith:

   The article was full of meat, with few wasted words.

6. a favorite occupation, activity, etc.:

   Chess is his meat.

7. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. pork, especially bacon.
8. Slang: Vulgar. penis.
9. Archaic. the principal meal:

   to say grace before meat.

meat

/ miːt /

noun

1. the flesh of mammals used as food, as distinguished from that of birds and fish
2. anything edible, esp flesh with the texture of meat

   crab meat

3. food, as opposed to drink
4. the essence or gist
5. See meal
   an archaic word for meal 1
6. meat and drink
   meat and drink a source of pleasure
7. have one's meat and one's manners informal.
   have one's meat and one's manners to lose nothing because one's offer is not accepted

Derived Forms

• ˈmeatless, adjective

Other Words From

• meat·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of meat¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English mete, met, methe “food, nourishment, sustenance,” Old English mete, mett, “food,” cognate with Old High German maz, Old Norse matr, Gothic mats

Word History and Origins

Origin of meat¹

Old English mete; related to Old High German maz food, Old Saxon meti, Gothic mats

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. piece of meat, Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
   1. a person regarded merely as a sex object:

      Years after winning a beauty pageant, she denounced the competition, saying she’d been crowned the judges’ favorite piece of meat.

   2. a person, as a prizefighter or laborer, regarded merely as a strong or useful physical specimen:

      The trainer never apologized for referring to his boxers as pieces of meat—if you made it to the top, he’d start calling you “Kid.”

More idioms and phrases containing meat

• beat the meat
• one's man's meat is another man's poison

Example Sentences

Indeed, data suggests many young consumers are already incorporating plant-based meats into their meals.

From Singularity Hub 

They didn’t necessarily have milk or meat or a bakery in-house.

From Freakonomics

Efforts to curb wild meat consumption in response to disease outbreaks can also harm local populations who rely on wild meats for proteins and decrease trust in public health, which happened in the 2015 Ebola outbreak.

From Science News

In terms of the food supply, the FDA has detected varying levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in meat since monitoring began in 1996.

From Science News

There, as people got more money, some of them may have more cleared land for cattle to raise for meat, Ferraro says.

From Science News

The smell of grilled meat mixes with the exotic wafts of cinnamon tea served with a mush of sweet brown dessert.

From The Daily Beast

Limbaugh makes comments like this because his right-wing fans require a non–stop diet of race-baiting red meat.

From The Daily Beast

Chickens require significantly less land, water, and energy than all other meat options except farmed salmon.

From The Daily Beast

In March, police arrested a group of wealthy businessmen and government officials who were about to dine on illegal tiger meat.

From The Daily Beast

Those raised for their meat (200 million tons of it a year) can barely walk because their breasts have been so enlarged.

From The Daily Beast

The sailors sometimes use it to fry their meat, for want of butter, and find it agreeable enough.

From Project Gutenberg

The camp grew still, except for the rough and ready cook pottering about the fire, boiling buffalo-meat and mixing biscuit-dough.

From Project Gutenberg

A few years back it was partly turned into a depot for American meat, but is now simply used for warehouses.

From Project Gutenberg

You know the fable about the dog who dropped his meat in the water, trying to snap at its reflection?

From Project Gutenberg

While this was being done, Ramona would dry the beef which would be their supply of meat for many months.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• food
• foodstuff