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

A larger supply of lean meat from South America could temporarily lower prices for ground beef sold at grocery stores or found in fast-food restaurants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Since then, the company has been working to remove approximately 88 million pounds of rotting food, including meat and fish that was stored inside.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

Bulk amounts of mostly meat and seafood had remained in the western freezer, which was unaffected by the blaze.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

“Australian meat and, in particular, game has been what Native Australians lived on and enjoyed for thousands of years. Our privilege is to showcase this land and what it has to offer.”

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

Now that he’d shaken off the fever and eaten some meat, he could think clearly at last.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

These industrially produced foods include soft drinks, packaged cereals, snacks, and processed meats.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

It was a strange little society of meats that belonged neither behind the butcher counter nor among the premium lunch meats — the thin-sliced turkey in its tidy package, the glossy hunk of honey ham.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

While popular variations use turkey, roast beef, pastrami and other deli meats, the original version on offer at the 99-year-old Town Hall Delicatessen is still made with ham and beef tongue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Chef and co-owner Danny Castillo has earned national acclaim for his Texas-style smoked brisket, chickens, sausages and other meats informed by the ethnic backgrounds of his crew — white, Mexican, Argentine, Filipino and others.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026

He stared for a moment at the piles of fruit, bread, and dried meats the yumboes had packed for him.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

• food
• foodstuff