oatmeal

American  

[oht-meel, -meel] / ˈoʊtˌmil, -ˈmil /

noun

1. meal made from ground or rolled oats.

2. a cooked breakfast food made from this.

3. a grayish-fawn color.

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adjective

1. made with or containing oatmeal.

   oatmeal cookies.

oatmeal British  

/ ˈəʊtˌmiːl /

noun

1. meal ground from oats, used for making porridge, oatcakes, etc

2. 1. a greyish-yellow colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      an oatmeal coat

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Etymology

Origin of oatmeal

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at oat, meal ²

Explanation

Use the word oatmeal for ground, crushed, or cut oats — or to mean the hot cereal made from cooking these processed oats. You might prefer your oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins. Oatmeal is a porridge or hot cereal, a tasty breakfast especially in the winter months. It's also the name of the meal that you need to boil in water or milk to make a bowl of oatmeal. As well as the breakfast dish, you can make things like bread, cookies, and pancakes with oatmeal. In Scotland, oatmeal has long been the major grain, and as a result oatmeal is an ingredient in many traditional foods, from gruel and oatcakes to haggis.

Example Sentences

Oatmeal is a source of soluble fiber, which means it can be fermented by the bacteria in our digestive tract.

From Salon • Mar. 19, 2024

Oatmeal in many forms is readily available in any grocery store.

From National Geographic • Feb. 7, 2024

Inman, who also made the popular comic The Oatmeal and a cat-themed mobile game called Kitty Letter, will also serve as a showrunner.

From The Verge • Apr. 18, 2022

Otherwise her meals are predictable: Oatmeal, eggs, pasta salad, toasted cheese sandwiches.

From Washington Post • Mar. 21, 2022

Behind Titi Generosa’s back we called her Titi Avena, Auntie Oatmeal, because oatmeal was all she cooked for us.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

Related Words

• cereal
• porridge