meal

meal
meal
W2S2 [mi:l] n
[Sense: 1,3; Origin: Old English mAl 'time, meal']
[Sense: 2; Origin: Old English melu]
1.)
an occasion when you eat food, for example breakfast or dinner, or the food that you eat on that occasion
▪ After the movie we went for a meal in a Chinese restaurant.
▪ Why don't you ask him out for a meal ?
▪ He was always taking her out for meals in fancy restaurants.
▪ We must have a meal together some time.
▪ Mavis ate her meal in silence.
▪ My mom was helping me prepare the meal .
▪ The price includes accommodation, breakfast, and evening meals .
▪ Dinner is the main meal of the day for most people.
▪ a five-course meal in an expensive French restaurant
▪ All I need is a bath, a decent meal , and a good long sleep.
▪ The soldiers were looking forward to a hot meal .
▪ The cinnamon roll has as many calories as a full meal .
▪ You need to have three square meals a day.
2.) [U]
grain that has been crushed into a powder, for making flour or animal food
→↑bonemeal
3.) make a meal (out) of sth
BrE informal to spend too much time or effort doing something
▪ He made a real meal out of parking the car.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
COLLOCATES for sense 1
go (out) for a meal
ask somebody out for a meal
take somebody (out) for a meal
have/eat a meal
cook/prepare/make a meal
enjoy your meal! (=I hope you like your food)
evening/midday meal
the main meal of the day
a three/five-course meal
a decent/proper meal
a hot meal
a full meal (=a complete meal)
a square meal (=a meal with enough good food to keep you healthy)
HINT sense 1
Do not say 'take a meal'. Say have a meal.
WORD FOCUS: meal
meals at different times of day: breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea (BrE), dinner, supper
a meal outside: picnic, barbecue also barbie (informal), cookout (AmE)
when you quickly eat a little food : snack, a bite to eat
a very big meal for a lot of people: banquet, feast
parts of a meal: starter (BrE), appetizer (AmE) (=the first course)
main course/entree (especially AmE), side dish (=eaten with the main course)
dessert also pudding sweet (BrE) (=sweet food eaten at the end of the meal)
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат
Synonyms:
, / ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • meal — [ mil ] noun *** 1. ) count an occasion when you eat, especially breakfast, lunch, or DINNER: The medicine should always be taken with meals. go out for a meal (=go to a restaurant): We could go to a movie, or go out for a meal. main meal (=the… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • meal — UK US /miːl/ noun ► [C] an occasion when food is eaten, or the food which is eaten on such an occasion: go out/take sb out for a meal »He took the whole team out for a meal at the end of the project. have/eat a meal »I have my main meal at midday …   Financial and business terms

  • Meal — Meal, n. [OE. mel; akin to E. meal a part, and to D. maal time, meal, G. mal time, mahl meal, Icel. m[=a]l measure, time, meal, Goth. m[=e]l time, and to E. measure. See {Measure}.] The portion of food taken at a particular time for the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Meal — Meal, n. [OE. mele, AS. melu, melo; akin to D. meel, G. mehl, OHG. melo, Icel. mj[ o]l, SW. mj[ o]l, Dan. meel, also to D. malen to grind, G. mahlen, OHG., OS., & Goth. malan, Icel. mala, W. malu, L. molere, Gr. my lh mill, and E. mill. [root]108 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • meal — meal·able; meal; meal·berry; meal·er; meal·ie; meal·i·ness; meal·less; meal·man; meal·ock; piece·meal; …   English syllables

  • meal|y — meal|y1 «MEE lee», adjective, meal|i|er, meal|i|est. 1. like meal; dry and powdery: »mealy potatoes. 2. of or containing meal: »the mealy treasures of the harvest bin …   Useful english dictionary

  • meal — Ⅰ. meal [1] ► NOUN 1) any of the regular daily occasions when food is eaten. 2) the food eaten on such an occasion. ● make a meal of Cf. ↑make a meal of ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • Meal — (m[=e]l), n. [OE. mele, AS. m[=ae]l part, portion, portion of time; akin to E. meal a repast. Cf. {Piecemeal}.] A part; a fragment; a portion. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Meal — Meal, v. t. 1. To sprinkle with, or as with, meal. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. To pulverize; as, mealed powder. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • meal — meal1 [mēl] n. [ME mele < OE mæl, a measure, fixed time, meal, akin to Ger mal, time, mahl, meal < IE base * mē , to MEASURE] 1. any of the times, esp. the customary times, for eating, as breakfast, lunch, or dinner 2. the food served or… …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”