DictionaryAI

meat

noun
SayMEET/mit//miːt/

Pluralmeats (some meanings)

11 meanings of meat

Practice

  1. 1
    animal fleshnoununcountable
    The flesh of animals that people eat, like beef, pork or chicken, or plant foods made to taste like it.

    We grilled some meat over the fire for dinner.

    Many people now buy plant-based meat instead of beef.

    UsageSay some meat or a piece of meat.

    Note
  2. 2
    core partnouncountable or uncountable
    The best, richest, or most important part of something.

    Like the filling in a sandwich: the part that matters most.

    The real meat of the book is in the last few chapters.

    Let's skip the small talk and get to the meat of the plan.

    UsageSay the meat of a talk for its main part.

    Similarcore, heart, essence, gist, substance

    Note
  3. 3
    nouncolloquialuncountable
    The flesh and muscle on someone's body, used when talking about how thin or strong someone looks.

    There's not much meat on him, so his old coat hangs off his shoulders.

    Grandma keeps telling me I need to put some meat on my bones.

    UsageSay someone needs some meat on their bones.

    Similarmuscle, flesh

    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of meat apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Old English mete, meaning "food." It goes back to older Germanic and Indo-European roots.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts