meal

¹ American  

[meel] / mil /

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.

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meal ² American  

[meel] / mil /

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.

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-meal ³ American  

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

   piecemeal.

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meal ¹ British  

/ 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

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meal ² British  

/ 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

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meal Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing meal

• square meal

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Other Word Forms

• meal-less adjective
• mealless adjective

Etymology

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

Explanation

When you eat a meal, you sit down and dine on food. Breakfast is usually the first meal of the day, but if you oversleep your first meal might be lunch instead. You can use the word meal to talk about the occasion (like dinner or brunch), or about the food itself. For example, you might say that chili and cornbread is your favorite meal during the colder months, or that a fast food hamburger eaten in the car is a poor excuse for a meal. Yet another meaning of meal is "edible ground grain or beans," like cornmeal or soybean meal.

Example Sentences

A 2025 survey of its members suggested the real cost of delivering a meal was approximately £3.45 - roughly 80p more than the £2.61 given to schools to fund free school meals in England.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

In 2018, participants provided details about their height, weight, meal timing, lifestyle habits, and socioeconomic background through questionnaires.

From Science Daily • Apr. 11, 2026

She said: “Those hours that they took you away, nobody’s paying that person. And that makes a difference between a meal for him and his kids that night and maybe just cold supper.”

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026

A covered porch houses a sizable grill for outdoor meal preparation.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a meal like this.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Related Words

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