Definition of "meal"
meal1
noun
countable and uncountable, plural meals
(countable) Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity (as opposed to a snack).
Quotations
Sir, I was thrice at Lamhith, to have dined with the Archeb since your departure, and still he was to dine, at the Court or with some Bishop. But I must and will find him as soon as I may: and rather at a meal, then otherwise, because I would have means, to participate at large, about our Collation.
1606, Bodleyː
Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep in the affliction of these terrible dreams that shake us nightly.
c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)
Give me but so many meals, and thou shalt find me one of the strongest Turkish males that ever English gennet bore.
1640, Richard Brathwait, Ar't asleep Husband? A BOULSTER LECTURE, Stored with all variety of witty Jests, merry Tales, and other pleasant passages; extracted from the choycest Flowers of Phi∣losophy, Poesy, ancient and moderne Historyː
Indeed, the worthy gentleman, stimulated perhaps by the immediate prospect of being in active service, was in great spirits and good humor; in proof whereof, it may be here remarked, that he humorously drank all the beer at a draught; and did not utter, on a rough calculation, more than fourscore oaths during the whole progress of the meal.
1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […]
Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.
2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4
(countable) Food served or eaten as a repast.
Quotations
Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.
2012 March-April, Anna Lena Phillips, “Sneaky Silk Moths”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 172
(obsolete) A time or an occasion.
Quotations
Ye wolde wepe at every mele; But for my sone wepe ye never a dele. You would weep at every meal, but for my son you never weep a deal.
The Lamentation of the Virgin Mary (MS. Cantab., Ff. ii., 38, fol. 47.), in: 1847, Thomas Wright (editor), The Chester Plays: A Collection of Mysteries founded upon scriptural Subjects, and formerly represented by the Trades of Chester at Whitsuntide, vol. II, p. 208f.
[…] by occasion whereoff thai woll than at every mele groche with the kinge […] […] by occasion whereof they will, then at every meal, grouch with the king […]
a1400?-a1470?, in: 1999/2006, The Governance of England: Otherwise called The Difference between an Absolute and a Limited Monarchy. By Sir John Fortescue. A Revised Text edited with Introduction, Notes, and Appendices by Charles Plummer, p. 132
meal2
noun
countable and uncountable, plural meals
The coarse-ground edible part of various grains often used to feed animals; flour or a coarser blend than flour.
Quotations
Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.
2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4
verb
third-person singular simple present meals, present participle mealing, simple past and past participle mealed
meal3
verb
third-person singular simple present meals, present participle mealing, simple past and past participle mealed
(transitive) To defile or taint.
Quotations
Were he meal'd with that / Which he corrects, than were he tyrannous.
c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene ii]