MEAT


Meaning of MEAT in English

I. ˈmēt, usu -ēd.+V noun

( -s )

Usage: often attributive

Etymology: Middle English mete, from Old English; akin to Old High German maz food, Old Norse matr, Gothic mats food, Latin madēre to be wet, Greek madaros wet, mastos breast, Sanskrit madati it bubbles, he rejoices; basic meaning: drip, be fat

1.

a. : something eaten by man or beast for nourishment : food

and to every beast of the earth … I have given every green herb for meat — Gen 1:30 (Authorized Version)

it was meat and drink to him to be the guardian of a secret — John Buchan

b. : the edible part of a nut, fruit, or egg

meat of half apple showing tooth marks still fresh, not turned brown — Leslie Ford

2. obsolete : a particular dish prepared or served as food

3.

a. : animal tissue used as food:

(1) : flesh 2b

preferring meat to fish

(2) : flesh 1b ; specifically : flesh of domesticated cattle, swine, sheep, and goats — distinguished especially in legal and commercial usage from meat by-product and from flesh of other kinds of mammals

(3) : the edible soft parts of any animal — usually used with a qualifying term

crab meat

the dark meat of poultry

b. : meat prepared for the table

spiced meat

meat loaf

have another slice of meat

4. archaic : any of the usual daily meals ; especially : dinner

5.

a. archaic : game animals : quarry

b. : favorite or appropriate object of pursuit : principal delight

if you like your stories restrained and nontheatrical, this is your meat — I.T.Marsh

if a baby hippopotamus was born at the zoo, that was my meat — St. Clair McKelway

6. : food for thought : solid substance : matter

this is a volume of first-rate caliber, full of meat — H.L.Hoskins

the real meat is found in the last two chapters — Times Literary Supplement

to him ideas are not fleshless, misty abstractions but the meaning, the meat , and the mainspring action of men — Kathleen Sproul

7. chiefly South & Midland : pork ; especially : bacon

II. transitive verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

now dialect : to supply with food

III. noun

: penis — usually considered vulgar

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.