meal

/mil/

/mɪəl/

Other forms: meals

When you eat a meal, you sit down and dine on food. Breakfast is usually the first meal of the day, but if you oversleep your first meal might be lunch instead.

You can use the word meal to talk about the occasion (like dinner or brunch), or about the food itself. For example, you might say that chili and cornbread is your favorite meal during the colder months, or that a fast food hamburger eaten in the car is a poor excuse for a meal. Yet another meaning of meal is "edible ground grain or beans," like cornmeal or soybean meal.

Definitions of meal

1. noun

   any of the occasions for eating food that occur by custom or habit at more or less fixed times
   type of:

   occasion

   the time of a particular event
2. noun

   the food served and eaten at one time
   synonyms: repast

   types:

   mess

   a meal eaten in a mess hall by service personnel

   square meal

   a substantial and nourishing meal

   potluck

   whatever happens to be available especially when offered to an unexpected guest or when brought by guests and shared by all

   refection

   a light meal or repast

   breakfast

   the first meal of the day (usually in the morning)

   brunch

   combination breakfast and lunch; usually served in late morning

   dejeuner, lunch, luncheon, tiffin

   a midday meal

   afternoon tea, tea, teatime

   a light midafternoon meal of tea and sandwiches or cakes

   dinner

   the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday

   supper

   a light evening meal; served in early evening if dinner is at midday or served late in the evening at bedtime

   buffet

   a meal set out on a buffet at which guests help themselves

   picnic

   any informal meal eaten outside or on an excursion

   bite, collation, snack

   a light informal meal

   nosh-up

   a large satisfying meal

   ploughman's lunch

   a meal consisting of a sandwich of bread and cheese and a salad

   banquet, feast, spread

   a meal that is well prepared and greatly enjoyed

   Passover supper, Seder

   (Judaism) the ceremonial dinner on the first night (or both nights) of Passover

   refreshment

   snacks and drinks served as a light meal

   continental breakfast, petit dejeuner

   a breakfast that usually includes a roll and coffee or tea

   business lunch

   lunch (usually at a restaurant) where business is discussed and the cost is charged as a business expense

   high tea

   substantial early evening meal including tea

   cookout

   an informal meal cooked and eaten outdoors

   nosh

   (Yiddish) a snack or light meal

   coffee break, tea break

   a snack taken during a break in the work day

   smorgasbord

   an assortment of foods starting with herring or smoked eel or salmon etc with bread and butter; then cheeses and eggs and pickled vegetables and aspics; finally hot foods; served as a buffet meal

   power breakfast

   a meeting of influential people to conduct business while eating breakfast

   type of:

   aliment, alimentation, nourishment, nutriment, nutrition, sustenance, victuals

   a source of materials to nourish the body
3. noun

   coarsely ground foodstuff; especially seeds of various cereal grasses or pulse
   types:

   kibble

   coarsely ground grain in the form of pellets (as for pet food)

   Indian meal, cornmeal

   coarsely ground corn

   farina

   fine meal made from cereal grain especially wheat; often used as a cooked cereal or in puddings

   matzah meal, matzo meal, matzoh meal

   meal made from ground matzos

   oatmeal, rolled oats

   meal made from rolled or ground oats

   pea flour

   meal made from dried peas

   pinole

   meal made of finely ground corn mixed with sugar and spices

   type of:

   food product, foodstuff

   a substance that can be used or prepared for use as food