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Synonyms

meal

1 American  
[meel] / mil /

noun

  1. the food served and eaten especially at one of the customary, regular occasions for taking food during the day, as breakfast, lunch, or supper.

  2. one of these regular occasions or times for eating food.

meal 2 American  
[meel] / mil /

noun

  1. a coarse, unsifted powder ground from the edible seeds of any grain.

    wheat meal;

    cornmeal.

  2. any ground or powdery substance, as of nuts or seeds, resembling this.

-meal 3 American  

  1. a native English combining form, now unproductive, denoting a fixed measure at a time.

    piecemeal.
meal 1 British  
/ miːl /

noun

    1. any of the regular occasions, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc, when food is served and eaten

    2. ( in combination )

      mealtime

  2. the food served and eaten

  3. informal to perform (a task) with unnecessarily great effort

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
meal 2 British  
/ miːl /

noun

  1. the edible part of a grain or pulse (excluding wheat) ground to a coarse powder, used chiefly as animal food

  2. oatmeal

  3. maize flour

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
meal Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing meal

Other Word Forms

  • meal-less adjective
  • mealless adjective

Etymology

Origin of meal1

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”

Origin of meal2

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” ( mill 1 )

Origin of -meal3

Middle English -mele, Old English -mǣlum, combining form representing mǣl meal 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The meal ended quickly, and the remains of the unlucky rodent were left scattered across the cave floor.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

"I don't have breakfast because I can't afford breakfast. I have one meal a day," said Michelle.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Save room for dessert—the house-made churro cheesecake isn’t overly sweet and is a great way to end the meal.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

On the way home, I stop by one of my watering holes for cocktails and a light meal.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

I cooked a small meal for the dogs.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

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.