veal
Americannoun
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Also vealer a calf raised for its meat, usually a milk-fed animal less than three months old.
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the flesh of the calf as used for food.
noun
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the flesh of the calf used as food
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Also called: veal calf. a calf, esp one bred for eating
Etymology
Origin of veal
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English ve(e)l, from Anglo-French vel (compare Old French veel, veal), from Latin vitellus, diminutive of vitulus “calf”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If you go to a restaurant charging €19.50, your total cost for a veal steak with rice and a crème brûlée is just $23 at current exchange rates.
From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026
Supply shortages helped drive beef and veal prices up by more than 16%.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026
Prices for beef and veal are up more than 14% since last year, rising 1.2% over-the-month.
From BBC • Oct. 24, 2025
Known as the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act, the 2018 ballot measure establishes minimum space requirements for egg-laying hens, breeding pigs and calves raised for veal.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2025
It was a breaded veal cutlet, spinach, mashed potatoes, and prune whip.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
