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 in many forms is readily available in any grocery store.

From National Geographic • Feb. 7, 2024

"Oatmeal alone was like having a television without cable; you needed those upgrades for it to be worth it."

From Salon • Apr. 28, 2023

Decades later, he still remembered the lines from his first performance, a kindergarten play: “I am Paul Oatmeal, true of heart and true of soul. Put me in your breakfast bowl.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 26, 2022

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

Oatmeal cake was a tolerable idea, but the possibility of kipper cake made them gag.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• cereal
• porridge