meal

1
[ meel ]
See synonyms for: mealmeals on Thesaurus.com

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.

Origin of meal

1
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”

Other words from meal

  • mealless, adjective

Other definitions for meal (2 of 3)

meal2
[ meel ]

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.

Origin of meal

2
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 mill1)

Other words from meal

  • mealless, adjective

Other definitions for -meal (3 of 3)

-meal

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

Origin of -meal

3
Middle English -mele,Old English -mǣlum, combining form representing mǣlmeal1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use meal in a sentence

  • Individual samples may be slightly alkaline, especially after a full meal.

    A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
  • Following the boys, Baptiste entered by the kitchen door to encounter the mother and three daughters preparing the meal.

    The Homesteader | Oscar Micheaux
  • She smiled a smile after this that was one of satisfaction, and at that moment her sisters called that the meal was ready.

    The Homesteader | Oscar Micheaux
  • In my house there has never been sufficient food for a solid meal, and I have not land enough even for an insect to rest upon.

    Our Little Korean Cousin | H. Lee M. Pike
  • He was still at breakfast, and advancing slowly in the meal, like a gentleman whose breakfast was his greatest care in life.

British Dictionary definitions for meal (1 of 2)

meal1

/ (miːl) /


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

    • (in combination): mealtime Related adjective: prandial

  1. the food served and eaten

  1. make a meal of informal to perform (a task) with unnecessarily great effort

Origin of meal

1
Old English mǣl measure, set time, meal; related to Old High German māl mealtime

British Dictionary definitions for meal (2 of 2)

meal2

/ (miːl) /


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

  2. Scot oatmeal

  1. mainly US maize flour

Origin of meal

2
Old English melu; compare Dutch meel, Old High German melo, Old Norse mjöl

Derived forms of meal

  • meal-less, adjective

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with meal

meal

In addition to the idiom beginning with meal

  • meal ticket

; also see

  • square meal

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.