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.
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.
any of the regular occasions, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc, when food is served and eaten
( in combination )
mealtime
the food served and eaten
informal to perform (a task) with unnecessarily great effort
the edible part of a grain or pulse (excluding wheat) ground to a coarse powder, used chiefly as animal food
oatmeal
maize flour
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”
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” ( see mill 1)
Middle English -mele, Old English -mǣlum, combining form representing mǣl meal 1
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.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The note - which was posted on social media - accompanied a few snacks that the comedian dubbed a "Conan O'Brien 'Moderately Happy Meal'."
From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026
Meal prepping a simple trio on Sundays creates a week of easy lunches:
From Salon • Mar. 9, 2026
The fast-food chain’s current offerings include Meal Deals starting at $5, Snack Wraps for $2.99 and buy one-add one-for-$1 specials on certain items.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 11, 2026
Meal timing was also rarely tested in clinical trials.
From Science Daily • Feb. 4, 2026
They are not of the finest but they met me with Humility & we had an excellent Meal, I regaled them with many Tales of our Successes.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
