meat
the flesh of animals as used for food: in particular, mammals, especially livestock and game, and often including poultry and game birds.: See also flesh (def. 1), muscle meat.
the edible part of anything, as a fruit or nut: Crack the walnuts and remove the meats.
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.
solid food: meat and drink.
solid or substantial content; pith: The article was full of meat, with few wasted words.
a favorite occupation, activity, etc.: Chess is his meat.
Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. pork, especially bacon.
Slang: Vulgar. penis.
Archaic. the principal meal: to say grace before meat.
Idioms about meat
piece of meat, Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
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.
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.”
Origin of meat
1Other words from meat
- meat·less, adjective
Words that may be confused with meat
- meat , meet
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for meat
/ (miːt) /
the flesh of mammals used as food, as distinguished from that of birds and fish
anything edible, esp flesh with the texture of meat: crab meat
food, as opposed to drink
the essence or gist
an archaic word for meal 1
meat and drink a source of pleasure
have one's meat and one's manners Irish informal to lose nothing because one's offer is not accepted
Origin of meat
1Derived forms of meat
- meatless, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with meat
In addition to the idioms beginning with meat
- meat and drink to one
- meat and potatoes
also see:
- beat the meat
- one's man's meat is another man's poison
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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