meat

noun

1
a
: food
especially : solid food as distinguished from drink
b
: the edible part of something as distinguished from its covering (such as a husk or shell)
2
: animal tissue considered especially as food:
a
: flesh sense 2b
also : flesh of a mammal as opposed to fowl or fish
b
: flesh sense 1a
specifically : flesh of domesticated animals
3
archaic : meal entry 1 sense 1
especially : dinner
4
a
: the core of something : heart
b
: pith sense 2b
a novel with meat
5
: favorite pursuit or interest
meated adjective
meatless adjective

Examples of meat in a Sentence

The restaurant serves a variety of meats. The real meat of the book is found in its discussion of his economic plan.
Recent Examples on the Web Add about 1/3 cup of the meat mixture to the tortilla. Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 9 Mar. 2024 Sweet Potato Kibbeh With Mozzarella and Tomato Kibbeh, a dish of bulgur baked with meat and vegetables, is popular in Lebanon and one that Saab has on repeat. Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024 All of the resort's menu items are plant-based, with some optional meat add-ons. Karen Cicero, Parents, 8 Mar. 2024 Roe’s sentencing document included words of support from his wife, a longtime neighbor and his supervisor at a Leawood grocery store, where he is employed full time as a meat cutter. Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2024 Raw meat and square-ish bubbles herald the end of the partnership Beef and bubbles were among the ensuing frustrations. The Indianapolis Star, 6 Mar. 2024 Most recently, Subway installed new on-site meat slicers in all of its restaurants in an effort to improve the quality of what is served to customers. Angela L. Pagán, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024 Separate the chunks of meat from the vegetables and set the meat aside. Lynda Balslev, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024 The questions my children dwelled on reflected increasingly familiar consumer concerns: How does my meat consumption affect the planet? Liat Lachish Levy, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'meat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English mete "food, meal," going back to Old English, going back to Germanic *mati- (whence Old Saxon meti, mat "food," Old High German maz, Old Norse matr, Gothic mats), perhaps going back to Indo-European *mod-i-, derivative of a verbal base *med- "become full," whence Greek mestós "full, satiated"

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of meat was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near meat

Cite this Entry

“Meat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meat. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

meat

noun
1
a
: something eaten for nourishment
especially : solid food as distinguished from drink
b
: the edible part of something as distinguished from the covering (as a shell or husk)
walnut meat
2
: animal and especially mammal flesh used as food

More from Merriam-Webster on meat

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