white meat
Americannoun
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any meat that is light-colored before cooking, as veal or chicken (distinguished from red meat).
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meat that is light-colored after cooking, as veal or breast of chicken or of turkey (distinguished from dark meat).
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Slang: Vulgar. a white person considered as a sexual partner.
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Southern U.S. salt pork, fatback, or other pork without any lean.
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Archaic. food made from milk.
noun
Etymology
Origin of white meat
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425
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.
Ironically, heavily processed and oddly shaped chicken patties, tenders and nuggets were popular so long as they claimed to contain 100% white meat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
Only the white meat of clams and scallops should be prepared for eating.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2025
If you love white meat, turkey breasts can suffice.
From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2024
The findings around chicken and other white meat were less clear.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2024
He broke the coconut against the sink and let the water out before he began to nudge the white meat off the shell with a knife.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
