meatloaf

American  

[meet-lohf] / ˈmitˌloʊf /

Or meat loaf

noun

plural

meatloaves

1. a dish of ground meat, often mixed with other ingredients, as breadcrumbs and seasonings, molded in the shape of a loaf and baked.

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Etymology

Origin of meatloaf

First recorded in 1890–95; meat + loaf ¹

Explanation

When you mix ground beef with spices and bake it in a bread pan, you get a meatloaf. Cut into slices and put between two pieces of bread, meatloaf makes a great sandwich, too. Meatloaf is a staple of many dinner tables, often served with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable. Variations on meatloaf have been around at least since 5th-century Rome, and it's especially common today in Germany and parts of Scandinavia. You can think of a meatloaf as a giant meatball, a mixture of ingredients like ground meat, breadcrumbs, herbs, and often vegetables or cheese. This dish shouldn't be confused with the singer known as Meat Loaf.

Example Sentences

Yet if steakhouse meatloaf feels like a revelation, it’s not because of wizardry.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026

Because when it’s good, steakhouse meatloaf is less “comfort food” and more quiet luxury.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026

But if workers must hit the road, management said, they should fuel up on the chain’s own meatloaf and country fried steak.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

“I filled in those holes through volunteering, through being an actor, through golf, bridge,” he said over a lunch of meatloaf and custard pie.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2025

Mrs. Beale was pressing her famous meatloaf into a baking pan one day, when Maniac started talking his trash to her.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli