Meal is a commonseen or used often; not unusual or rare word for food eaten at one time, usually at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It can also mean finely groundreduced to tiny pieces by crushing or milling grain or other food material in a more technicalused in a special subject or profession, not everyday speech sense.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-21. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Pronunciation
AI-generated pronunciation audio (OpenAI).
Accent: General American English
IPA: /miːl/
Easy pronunciation: MEEL (approximate spelling).
Stress: Single-syllable word; the stress is on the only syllable.
Use this pronunciation for the noun meaning the food served and eaten at one time.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-21. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Meal Meaning
a time when you eat, or the food eaten then
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the food served and eaten at one time
Example: We stopped for a quick meal before the movie.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- repast — A formal or literary word for a meal, but less common in everyday speech.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-21. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Other Meanings of Meal
Meaning 2
an eating time that happens regularly, like breakfast or dinner
Part of speech: noun
Definition: any of the occasions for eating food that occur by custom or habit at more or less fixed times
Example: Lunch is usually the day’s main meal for me.
Meaning 3
grain or seeds ground into a coarse powder
Part of speech: noun
Definition: coarsely ground foodstuff; especially seeds of various cereal grasses or pulse
Example: The recipe calls for corn meal.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-21. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Meal Synonyms
Similar Meaning
- repast
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-21. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Common Mistakes
- People sometimes confuse meal with a snack, but a meal usually means a proper eating occasion with food served at one time.
- Meal can also mean a ground grain product, so the context matters.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-21. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does meal mean?
Meal usually means food eaten at one time, such as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It can also mean ground grain or seed in a technical sense.
What is a synonym for meal?
Repast is the main synonym, but it is more formal and less common in everyday English.
Is meal the same as dinner?
Not exactly. Dinner is one specific meal, while meal is the general word for any time you eat food.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-21. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
