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meal

1
[ meel ]
/ mil /
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See synonyms for: meal / meals on Thesaurus.com
noun
the food served and eaten especially at one of the customary, regular occasions for taking food during the day, as breakfast, lunch, or supper.
one of these regular occasions or times for eating food.
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Origin of meal

1
before 900; Middle English; Old English mĒ£l measure, fixed time, occasion, meal; cognate with German Mal time, Mahl meal, Old Norse māl,Gothic mēl time, hour

OTHER WORDS FROM meal

mealless, adjective

Words nearby meal

meadow vole, Meads, Meadville, meager, meagre, meal, mealie, mealie meal, mealie pap, mealies, meal moth

Other definitions for meal (2 of 3)

meal2
[ meel ]
/ mil /
noun
a coarse, unsifted powder ground from the edible seeds of any grain: wheat meal; cornmeal.
any ground or powdery substance, as of nuts or seeds, resembling this.

Origin of meal

2
before 900; Middle English mele,Old English melu; cognate with German Mehl,Dutch meel,Old Norse mjĒ«l; akin to Gothic malan,Latin molere to grind. See mill1

OTHER WORDS FROM meal

mealless, adjective

Other definitions for meal (3 of 3)

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

Origin of -meal

Middle English -mele,Old English -mĒ£lum, combining form representing mĒ£lmeal1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Ā© Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to meal

breakfast, brunch, dessert, dinner, fare, feast, lunch, luncheon, picnic, refreshment, snack, supper, table, tea, board, chow, collation, cookout, eats, feed

How to use meal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for meal (1 of 2)

meal1
/ (miĖl) /
noun
  1. any of the regular occasions, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc, when food is served and eaten
  2. (in combination)mealtime Related adjective: prandial
the food served and eaten
make a meal of informal to perform (a task) with unnecessarily great effort

Word Origin for meal

Old English mĒ£l measure, set time, meal; related to Old High German māl mealtime

British Dictionary definitions for meal (2 of 2)

meal2
/ (miĖl) /
noun
the edible part of a grain or pulse (excluding wheat) ground to a coarse powder, used chiefly as animal food
Scot oatmeal
mainly US maize flour

Derived forms of meal

meal-less, adjective

Word Origin for meal

Old English melu; compare Dutch meel, Old High German melo, Old Norse mjƶl
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition Ā© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 Ā© HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with meal

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