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