meat

noun

ˈmēt 

1

a

: food

especially : solid food as distinguished from drink

b

: the edible part of something as distinguished from its covering (such as a husk or shell)

coconut meat

2

: animal tissue considered especially as food:

a

: flesh sense 2b

also : flesh of a mammal as opposed to fowl or fish

b

: flesh sense 1a

specifically : flesh of domesticated animals

3

archaic : meal entry 1 sense 1

especially : dinner

4

a

: the core of something : heart

b

: pith sense 2b

a novel with meat

5

: favorite pursuit or interest : jam sense 6b

meated

ˈmē-təd 

adjective

meatless adjective

Synonyms of meat

• flesh

Examples of meat in a Sentence

The restaurant serves a variety of meats.

The real meat of the book is found in its discussion of his economic plan.

Recent Examples on the Web

Eating well does not require elaborate cooking every night, or expensive fish or meat. — Renée Onque, CNBC, 22 Aug. 2026

The tender meat is flavored with ranch powder, gravy mix, and pepperoncini peppers. — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Aug. 2026

Harding and Powell have been making the rounds at parades and festivals where meat raffles offer oversized sausages as prizes. — ABC News, 22 Aug. 2026

Hickey surrendered three guns, a bow, blinds, decoys, 115 pounds of turkey meat and 47 turkey fans. — Kris Millgate, Outdoor Life, 21 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English mete "food, meal," going back to Old English, going back to Germanic *mati- (whence Old Saxon meti, mat "food," Old High German maz, Old Norse matr, Gothic mats), perhaps going back to Indo-European *mod-i-, derivative of a verbal base *med- "become full," whence Greek mestós "full, satiated"

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing meat

• dark meat
• dead meat
• luncheon meat
• lunch meat
• meat and potatoes
• meat-ax
• meat loaf
• meat market
• meat sauce
• meat sweats
• red meat
• variety meat
• white meat

Rhymes for meat

• beat
• beet
• bleat
• cheat
• cleat
• creat
• deet
• eat
• feat
• feet
• fleet
• greet

Kids Definition

meat

noun

ˈmēt 

1

a

: something eaten for nourishment

especially : solid food as distinguished from drink

b

: the edible part of something as distinguished from the covering (as a shell or husk)

walnut meat

2

: animal and especially mammal flesh used as food