meal

¹

[meel]

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

[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.

-meal

³

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

   piecemeal.

meal

¹

/ miːl /

noun

1. 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

meal

²

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• mealless adjective
• meal-less adjective

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of meal¹

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

Origin of meal²

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

Idioms and Phrases

• square meal

Example Sentences

Housing and student-loan costs are rising, as are those of restaurant meals and groceries.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

With free meals, accommodation and no bills to pay, it sticks in the throats of some.

Read more on BBC

In alarming numbers, people are skipping meals to save money, paying bills with credit cards and tapping into savings.

Read more on Salon

Cooking requires "nafas", or soul, Orfali explained, using the Arabic term that describes a cook's personal flair for food and their ability to conjure up exceptional meals.

Read more on Barron's

They make phone calls, pay for advertising and even hold events where participants get a free meal in exchange for listening to the sales pitch for that plan.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• breakfast 
• brunch 
• dessert 
• dinner 
• fare 
• feast 
• lunch 
• luncheon 
• picnic 
• refreshment 
• snack 
• supper 
• table 
• tea