meal

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈmēl How to pronounce meal (audio)
Synonyms of mealnext
1
: an act or the time of eating a portion of food to satisfy appetite
2
: the portion of food eaten at a meal

meal

2 of 3

noun (2)

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 3

adverb combining form

: by a (specified) portion or measure at a time
piecemeal

Synonyms of meal

Relevance

Noun (1)

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Restaurant owner Sachiyo Nakato Takahara places noodles, cabbage, onion and tofu into the sizzling, fragrant pot while explaining the significance of the meal, an intimate one typically enjoyed by close friends or family. — Nila Roper, AJC.com, 6 Sep. 2026 Classic Lasagna Soup Turn your favorite layered pasta dish into a simple meal that takes about half an hour. — Lizzy Briskin, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Sep. 2026 Join the 10,000 shoppers who recently bought this set of Rubbermaid plastic food storage containers, which keeps leftovers and meal prep fresh and your refrigerator organized. — Isabel Garcia, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2026 Pairing sugar-free candy with a meal can slow absorption and reduce the osmotic effect. — Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 6 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for meal

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English meel appointed time, meal, from Old English mǣl; akin to Old High German māl time, Latin metiri to measure — more at measure

Noun (2)

Middle English mele, from Old English melu; akin to Old High German melo meal, Latin molere to grind, Greek mylē mill

Adverb combining form

Middle English -mele, from Old English -mǣlum, from mǣlum, dative plural of mǣl

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of meal was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing meal

Rhymes for meal

See All Rhymes for meal

Browse Nearby Words

meak
meal
-meal
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Meal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meal. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

meal

1 of 2 noun
ˈmēl How to pronounce meal (audio)
1
: the food eaten or prepared for eating at one time
2
: the act or time of eating a meal

meal

2 of 2 noun
1
: 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
ˈmē(ə)l How to pronounce meal (audio)
: the portion of food taken at one time to satisfy appetite
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gist

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All