meal

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈmēl 

1

: an act or the time of eating a portion of food to satisfy appetite

2

: the portion of food eaten at a meal

meal

2 of 3

noun (2)

1

: the usually coarsely ground and unbolted seeds of a cereal grass or pulse

especially : cornmeal

2

: a product resembling seed meal especially in particle size or texture

-meal

3 of 3

adverb combining form

: by a (specified) portion or measure at a time

piecemeal

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• chow
• feed
• menu
• mess
• refection
• repast
• table

Examples of meal in a Sentence

Noun (1)

all she wants to do is sit quietly after the large Thanksgiving meal

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Goswami is heading to the homeless shelter Bridge to Home, a 15-minute drive away in Santa Clarita, with 40-plus gourmet meals, straight from the set of NCIS. —Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2025

In honor of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, the restaurant is offering a BOGO meal deal on entree items to jersey-wearing customers who dine-in through the end of the business day. —Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025

Hours before the announcement, the International Dairy Foods Association said its members would voluntarily eliminate artificial colors in milk, cheese and yogurt products sold to U.S. school meal programs by July 2026. —Matthew Perrone, Twin Cities, 22 Apr. 2025

All meal prices will be raised by 3%, according to the contract renewal agreements with the two providers. —Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English meel appointed time, meal, from Old English mǣl; akin to Old High German māl time, Latin metiri to measure — more at measure

Noun (2)

Middle English mele, from Old English melu; akin to Old High German melo meal, Latin molere to grind, Greek mylē mill

Adverb combining form

Middle English -mele, from Old English -mǣlum, from mǣlum, dative plural of mǣl

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing meal

• a meal in itself
• fish meal
• Indian meal
• make a meal (out) of
• matzo meal
• meal ticket
• midday meal
• pre-meal
• square meal

Rhymes for meal

• beal
• chiel
• ciel
• creel
• deal
• diel
• abele
• alkyl
• anneal
• appeal
• cartwheel
• conceal

Kids Definition

meal

1 of 2 noun

ˈmēl 

1

: the food eaten or prepared for eating at one time

2

: the act or time of eating a meal

meal

2 of 2 noun

1

: ground seeds of a cereal grass

especially : cornmeal

2

: something like meal especially in texture

Etymology

Noun

Old English mæl "appointed time, meal"

Noun

Old English melu "ground grain"

Medical Definition

meal

noun

ˈmē(ə)l 

: the portion of food taken at one time to satisfy appetite