meat

American  

[meet] / mit /

noun

• meats
  plural

1. the flesh of animals as used for food: in particular, mammals, especially livestock and game, and often including poultry and game birds.

2. the edible part of anything, as a fruit or nut.

   Crack the walnuts and remove the meats.

3. the essential point or part of an argument, literary work, etc.; gist; crux.

   The meat of the play is the jealousy between the two brothers.

4. solid food.

   meat and drink.

5. solid or substantial content; pith.

   The article was full of meat, with few wasted words.

6. a favorite occupation, activity, etc..

   Chess is his meat.

7. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. pork, especially bacon.

8. Slang: Vulgar. penis.

9. Archaic. the principal meal.

   to say grace before meat.

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idioms

1. piece of meat,

   1. a person regarded merely as a sex object.

      Years after winning a beauty pageant, she denounced the competition, saying she’d been crowned the judges’ favorite piece of meat.

   2. a person, as a prizefighter or laborer, regarded merely as a strong or useful physical specimen.

      The trainer never apologized for referring to his boxers as pieces of meat—if you made it to the top, he’d start calling you “Kid.”

meat British  

/ miːt /

noun

1. the flesh of mammals used as food, as distinguished from that of birds and fish

2. anything edible, esp flesh with the texture of meat

   crab meat

3. food, as opposed to drink

4. the essence or gist

5. an archaic word for meal 1

6. a source of pleasure

7. informal to lose nothing because one's offer is not accepted

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meat More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing meat

• beat the meat
• one's man's meat is another man's poison

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• meatless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• meats
  plural

Etymology

Origin of meat

First recorded before 900; Middle English mete, met, methe “food, nourishment, sustenance,” Old English mete, mett, “food,” cognate with Old High German maz, Old Norse matr, Gothic mats

Explanation

Use meat to mean any food that comes from the flesh of an animal. Bacon is meat. Cupcakes are not meat. You can refer to hamburgers, pork chops, and barbecued ribs as meat. It's okay to call chicken and turkey meat too, although formally it's known as poultry, while the flesh of fish is simply called fish. Sometimes the edible part of a nut is also called meat, although it's 100 percent vegetarian. If your grandmother thinks you're too skinny, she may feed you "to put some meat on your bones." In Old English, mete was just "food."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

meat meats

Kennedy and several other Cabinet members have reportedly embraced versions of the plan, which emphasizes grass-fed meat and fermented foods while eliminating alcohol and sugary foods.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

The meat has been described as tasting like a cross between kipper and steak or "salty goose" and, less flatteringly, as "rotten leather and fishy beef", external.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Lower prices of key commodities such as rice and meat, however, are expected to offset the higher cost pressures, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Department of Agriculture that livestock had been inhumanely slaughtered during a May event at Shahnawaz Ranch for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, and that the operation had sold the meat without required federal inspection.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Gathering his courage, he pulled open the meat tray.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

Smoky, charcoal-grilled meats and fragrant wok-cooked tomato curries sizzling over an open flame.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Throw in some cured meats with your nuggets to add more protein.

From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026

Bodner was fired after expensing a Super Bowl platter, complete with deli meats, cookies and Buffalo wings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Skip processed meats such as bacon, ham, or sausages.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 21, 2026

Her nostrils quivered at the smells of roasting meats and fresh hot bread and pies stuffed with pork and raisins, but her guts still trembled with excitement, and she was content just to smell.

From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman

Related Words

• food
• foodstuff