meat sauce

noun

plural meat sauces

: a sauce having meat as a prominent ingredient

… a grilled hot dog, steamed bun, mustard, onions and meat sauce.

—Steve Barnes

… topped with a minced beef and lamb meat sauce and punctuated by … cinnamon, cloves, allspice.

—Angela Hansberger

often, specifically : a tomato sauce made with ground meat and seasoned especially with garlic, onions, and herbs (such as oregano and/or basil) and used chiefly in pasta dishes

spaghetti and meat sauce

… pasta … with a juicy, tomato-rich meat sauce …

—Rachel Roddy

The menu will be pasta with meat sauce, tossed salad, garlic bread, peaches and a cookie.

—The Daily Review & Sunday Review (Towanda, Pennsylvania)

… the marinara and meat sauces that top the stuffed shells and lasagna.

—Gretchen McKay

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above