veal

1 of 2

noun

ˈvēl 

1

: the flesh of a young calf

2

: calf

especially : vealer

Illustration of veal

• A wholesale cuts
• 1 leg
• 2 loin
• 3 flank
• 4 rib
• 5 breast
• 6 shoulder
• 7 shank
• B retail cuts
• 1 hind shank
• 2 heel of round
• 3 round
• 4 rump roast
• 5 sirloin steak
• 6 loin chops
• 7 kidney chops
• 8 flank
• 9 breast
• 10 rib roast
• 11 blade steak
• 12 arm steak
• 13 shoulder roast
• 14 foreshank

veal

2 of 2

verb

vealed; vealing; veals

transitive verb

: to kill and dress (a calf) for veal

Examples of veal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Guests will have their pick of fresh homemade pastas and chicken dishes, as well as fish, veal and beef. —Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 28 Aug. 2025

It is generally grown at high altitudes and yields full-bodied wines that are meat-friendly—think of grilled veal chops, steaks, or rack of lamb—and suited to rich pasta dishes. —Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2025

Verb

Menu items range from fresh Gulf grouper and Cioppino to veal chops and roasted duckling. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2025

Within that category, meats overall dropped 0.9% — with beef and veal down 2%, pork chops 1.1% cheaper and hot dogs falling 1.5%. —Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN, 12 Jan. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English veel, borrowed from Anglo-French, "calf, veal," going back to Latin vitellus "small calf," diminutive of vitulus "calf"; akin to Greek hétalon "yearling," Old English wether "ram" — more at wether

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1901, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing veal

• bob veal

Rhymes for veal

• beal
• chiel
• ciel
• creel
• deal
• diel
• eel
• feel
• feil
• heal
• heel
• keel

Kids Definition

veal

noun

ˈvē(ə)l

: a young calf or its flesh for use as meat