meal S2 W2 /miːl/ BrE AmE noun
[ Sense 1,3: Language: Old English ; Origin: mæl 'time, meal' ]
[ Sense 2: Language: Old English ; Origin: melu ]
1 . [countable] an occasion when you eat food, for example breakfast or dinner, or the food that you eat on that occasion:
We must have a meal together some time.
Dinner is the main meal of the day for most people.
2 . [uncountable] grain that has been crushed into a powder, for making flour or animal food ⇨ ↑ bonemeal
3 . make a meal (out) of something British English informal to spend too much time or effort doing something:
He made a real meal out of parking the car.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ have a meal (=eat a meal)
We usually have our evening meal fairly early.
▪ eat a meal
When they had eaten their meal, they went out for a walk.
▪ cook/make a meal ( also prepare a meal formal )
Who cooks most of the meals?
▪ serve a meal
The bar serves snacks and meals.
▪ fix a meal informal especially American English (=make a meal)
▪ go (out) for a meal
How about going out for a meal tonight?
▪ take somebody (out) for a meal
He took Anna out for a meal and then to the theatre.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + meal
▪ an evening/midday meal
The evening meal is served at 7.30.
▪ the main meal
They had their main meal at lunch time.
▪ a three-course/five-course etc meal (=a meal with several separate parts)
a three-course meal, including appetizer and dessert
▪ a good meal (=a meal that is large enough and tastes good)
We’ll get a good meal there.
▪ a decent meal/a square meal ( also a proper meal British English ) (=with enough good food to satisfy you)
I hadn’t had a decent meal in days.
▪ a big/large meal
We don’t have a big meal at lunchtime, usually just sandwiches.
▪ a hot meal
With a hot meal inside me, I began to feel better.
▪ a delicious meal
‘It was a delicious meal,’ Merrill said politely.
▪ a heavy meal (=with a lot of rich food)
A heavy meal is likely to make you feel sleepy.
▪ a light meal (=with not a lot of food)
a light meal of salad
▪ a simple meal
a simple meal of soup and bread
▪ a balanced meal (=with some of each type of food, to keep you healthy)
We make healthy, balanced meals for our children.
▪ a gourmet meal (=one with very nice and often complicated food)
The day ended with a gourmet meal in a good restaurant.
▪ a slap-up meal British English informal (=a good meal)
Jennie cooked us a slap-up meal.
▪ a full meal (=a complete meal)
I’m not hungry enough to eat a full meal.
▪ a healthy meal
Healthy meals can still be quick and easy to prepare.
▪ a school meal (=provided by a school)
Many of the children are receiving free school meals.
▪ regular meals (=ones that are eaten at the same time each day)
Patients are advised to eat regular meals.
■ COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say 'take a meal' . Say have a meal .
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THESAURUS
■ types of meal
▪ breakfast a meal that you eat in the morning
▪ brunch a meal that you eat in the late morning, instead of breakfast or lunch
▪ lunch a meal that you eat in the middle of the day
▪ tea British English a meal that you eat in the afternoon or evening
▪ dinner the main meal of the day, which most people eat in the evening
▪ supper a small meal that you eat in the evening, in British English; the main meal that you eat in the evening, in American English
▪ picnic a meal that you eat outdoors, consisting of food that you cooked or prepared earlier
▪ barbecue a meal that you cook outdoors over hot coals or wood and eat outdoors
▪ snack a small amount of food that is eaten between main meals or instead of a meal
▪ side dish food eaten with the main course, such as vegetables:
I’ll have the salad as a side dish.
▪ course one of the separate parts of a meal, such as the starter or the dessert:
a three-course meal
■ parts of a large meal
▪ hors d'oeuvre ( also starter British English , appetizer American English ) the small first part of a meal:
a tempting plate of hors d'oeuvres including olives and small pieces of roast beetroot
▪ main course ( also entrée especially American English ) the main part of a meal. entrée is used especially on restaurant ↑ menu s :
For the main course we had cheese and onion pie.
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The menu includes a few hot entrées.
▪ dessert ( also pudding British English or sweet British English ) sweet food eaten at the end of a meal:
What do you want for dessert?
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They serve a wide range of desserts, including ice cream and home-made apple pie.