meal

noun

1. (countable)Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity.

   “Breakfast is the morning meal, lunch is the noon meal, and dinner, or supper, is the evening meal.”

   “c1450, Secreta Secretorumː He that will cast meal upon meal is not able to have (a) long life.”

   “c1500, The King and the Hermitː I have been there and taken deal / And have had many (a) merry meal.”

   “1535?, Dyfference Astronː But above all things beware that thou eat not till thou feel thy stomach empty and that it hath made good digestion of the first meal.”

   “1569, Fenton, Wondersː Besides he was so fantastical and unruly in his appetites, that he used no common meats at his meals, but was fed with the combs of cocks, the tongues of peahens.”

2. (countable)Food served or eaten as a repast.

   “a1450, The Macro Playsː If thou wilt fare well at meat and meal, come and follow me.”

   “This is the meal pleasantly set . . . . this is the meat and drink for natural hunger, / It is for the wicked just the same as the righteous . . . .”

   “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.”

3. (informal, uncountable)A break taken by a police officer in order to eat.

   “They [tape recorders] can be turned off while officers are on meal or in the car to protect their private conversations […]”

   ““I was on meal when I heard the call on the radio and recognized the address. What the hell?””

4. (countable, obsolete)A time or an occasion.

   “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.”

   “[…] 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 […]”

   “a1450, Henry Lovelich, The History of the Holy Grailː Which was to them a sorry meal.”

   “a1450, Henry Lovelich, Merlinː Also soon as the dragons together feal, betwixt them shall begin a sorry meal.”

   “a1450, The York Playsː What mean ye.. to make mourning at ilk a meal?”

5. (countable, uncountable)The ground-up edible part of various grains, used as a basis of food or feed; either flour or a coarser blend than flour (usage varies).

   “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.”

6. (countable, uncountable)Any of various similarly granular materials prepared from other sources, such as bones or wood.
7. (countable, uncountable)Any of various other granular or powdery materials, either ground by humans or occurring in nature, named figuratively after a resemblance to grain meal.
8. (UK, dialectal)A speck or spot.
9. A part; a fragment; a portion.

verb

1. (intransitive, obsolete)To yield or be plentiful in meal.

   “Of course the yield of grain was small, but much greater than could have been expected; and, the ears being well filled, it mealed well. The pastures were burnt up, so that there was nothing left for the cattle to eat.”

2. (transitive)To defile or taint.

   “Were he meal'd with that / Which he corrects, than were he tyrannous.”