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

“I liken this process to a three-course meal that we fought very hard for and earned,” he said.

From BBC

Morrisons' singing oven gloves are also back, as the supermarket puts the focus on those hosting the Christmas meal.

From BBC

“Everyone was just cold and hungry all the time, worrying about the next meal.”

From Los Angeles Times

Complete with decadent platters, occasional live music and constant chatting, White has developed a new outlook on the traditional evening meal.

From Los Angeles Times

As a kid, my favorite home-cooked meal was always pork chops with applesauce — which I think is a white thing.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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