meal

¹

[ meel ]

noun

1. the food served and eaten especially at one of the customary, regular occasions for taking food during the day, as breakfast, lunch, or supper.
2. one of these regular occasions or times for eating food.

meal

²

[ meel ]

noun

1. a coarse, unsifted powder ground from the edible seeds of any grain:

   wheat meal;

   cornmeal.

2. any ground or powdery substance, as of nuts or seeds, resembling this.

-meal

³

1. a native English combining form, now unproductive, denoting a fixed measure at a time:

   piecemeal.

meal

¹

/ miːl /

noun

1. the edible part of a grain or pulse (excluding wheat) ground to a coarse powder, used chiefly as animal food
2. oatmeal
3. maize flour

meal

²

/ miːl /

noun

1. 1. any of the regular occasions, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc, when food is served and eaten
   2. ( in combination ) prandial

      mealtime

2. the food served and eaten
3. make a meal of informal.
   to perform (a task) with unnecessarily great effort

Derived Forms

• ˈmeal-less, adjective

Other Words From

• mealless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of meal¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English mǣl “measure, fixed time, occasion”; cognate with German Mal “time,” Mahl “meal,” Old Norse māl, Gothic mēl “time, hour”

Origin of meal²

First recorded before 900; Middle English mele, Old English melu; cognate with German Mehl, Dutch meel, Old Norse mjǫl, Gothic malan; akin to Latin molere “to grind” ( mill ¹ )

Origin of meal³

Middle English -mele, Old English -mǣlum, combining form representing mǣl meal ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of meal¹

Old English melu; compare Dutch meel, Old High German melo, Old Norse mjöl

Origin of meal²

Old English mǣl measure, set time, meal; related to Old High German māl mealtime

Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with meal ; also see square meal .

Example Sentences

In one set of tests, seven participants wore the patch during daily activities such as cycling, raising an arm or leg, performing mental arithmetic, meditating, eating meals and consuming energy drinks.

From Science Daily

The movie is most effective in creating a rooting interest for Purdy’s character, while the maestro Nighy gets a nice juicy monologue at the end that he of course makes a meal of.

From New York Times

"I look forward to sleeping on my bed and eating home-cooked meals. Breathing in fresh air is an amazingly powerful feeling."

From BBC

He added: "My promise to Londoners is for as long as I am mayor, children going to state primary schools will receive this offer of a universal free school meal."

From BBC

Experts then reviewed the photos to assess the amount of food actually eaten and determine the nutrients consumed during each meal.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• breakfast
• brunch
• dessert
• dinner
• fare
• feast
• lunch
• luncheon
• picnic
• refreshment
• snack
• supper
• table
• tea