1
: an act or the time of eating a portion of food to satisfy appetite
2
: the portion of food eaten at a meal
1
: the usually coarsely ground and unbolted seeds of a cereal grass or pulse
especially
: cornmeal
2
: a product resembling seed meal especially in particle size or texture
-meal
3 of 3adverb combining form
: by a (specified) portion or measure at a time
piecemeal
Synonyms
Examples of meal in a Sentence
Noun (1)
all she wants to do is sit quietly after the large Thanksgiving meal
Recent Examples on the Web
Nate Trela, USA TODAY, 28 June 2024
The shakes at Tony’s are just as generous as the amount of bacon stacked onto each meal.
—Lyndsay C. Green, Detroit Free Press, 27 June 2024
This three-burner grill offers a cooking surface that can accommodate 18 burgers at once, so there's more than enough space to prepare a meal for the entire family.
—Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 27 June 2024
Livingston appears as himself in Episode 10, one of the many chef alumni who return to Ever for the final meal.
—Cady Lang, TIME, 27 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for meal 
Noun
The claim: Image shows all white people picnicking at Black church where Trump spoke
A June 17 Threads post (direct link, archive link) shows a group of people, all of whom appear to be white, gathered around a table for an outdoor meal.
—Nate Trela, USA TODAY, 28 June 2024
The shakes at Tony’s are just as generous as the amount of bacon stacked onto each meal.
—Lyndsay C. Green, Detroit Free Press, 27 June 2024
This three-burner grill offers a cooking surface that can accommodate 18 burgers at once, so there's more than enough space to prepare a meal for the entire family.
—Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 27 June 2024
Livingston appears as himself in Episode 10, one of the many chef alumni who return to Ever for the final meal.
—Cady Lang, TIME, 27 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for meal
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'meal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near meal
Cite this Entry
“Meal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meal. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
meal
1 of 2 noun1
: the food eaten or prepared for eating at one time
2
: the act or time of eating a meal
meal
2 of 2 noun1
: ground seeds of a cereal grass
especially
: cornmeal
2
: something like meal especially in texture
Etymology
Noun
Old English mæl "appointed time, meal"
Noun
Old English melu "ground grain"
Medical Definition
meal
noun
: the portion of food taken at one time to satisfy appetite
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