Adjacent Words

Meat definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MEAT, n.
1. Food in general; any thing eaten for nourishment, either by man or beast.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb--to you it shall be for meat. Genesis 1.
Every moving thing that liveth, shall be meat for you.
Genesis 9.
Thy carcass shall be meat to all fowls of the air.
Deutoronomy 28.
2. The flesh of animals used as food. This is now the more usual sense of the word. The meat of carnivorous animals is tough, coarse and ill flavored. The meat of herbivorous animals is generally palatable.
3. In Scripture, spiritual food; that which sustains and nourishes spiritual life or holiness.
My flesh is meat indeed. John 6.
4. Spiritual comfort; that which delights the soul.
My meat is to do the will of him that sent me. John 4.
5. Products of the earth proper for food. Habukkuk 3.
6. The more abstruse doctrines of the gospel, or mysteries of religion. Hebrews 5.
7. Ceremonial ordinances. Hebrews 13.
To sit at meat, to sit or recline at the table.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food
2: the inner and usually edible part of a seed or grain or nut or fruit stone; "black walnut kernels are difficult to get out of the shell" [syn: kernel, meat]
3: the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story" [syn: kernel, substance, core, center, centre, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nub, pith, sum, nitty- gritty]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English mete, from Old English; akin to Old High German maz food Date: before 12th century 1. a. food; especially solid food as distinguished from drink b. the edible part of something as distinguished from its covering (as a husk or shell) 2. animal tissue considered especially as food: a. flesh 2b; also flesh of a mammal as opposed to fowl or fish b. flesh 1a; specifically flesh of domesticated animals 3. archaic meal I,1; especially dinner 4. a. the core of something ; heart b. pith 2b <a novel with meat> 5. favorite pursuit or interest • meated adjective • meatless adjective

Britannica Concise

Flesh and other edible parts of animals, particularly mammals, used for food. Not only the muscles and fat but also such organs as the liver, kidney, and heart are consumed as meat. Meat is valued as a complete-protein food, containing all the amino acids necessary for the human body. It digests slowly, largely because of the presence of fats. Beef is the most widely consumed meat; pork is second; mutton and lamb, goat, venison, and rabbit are other common meats. The U.S. produces and consumes about a third of the world's meat, while much of the world's population eats little if any meat, though it is generally prized.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the flesh of animals (esp. mammals) as food. 2 (foll. by of) the essence or chief part of. 3 US the edible part of fruits, nuts, eggs, shellfish, etc. 4 archaic a food of any kind. b a meal. Phrases and idioms: meat and drink a source of great pleasure. meat-axe a butcher's cleaver. meat-fly (pl. -flies) a fly that breeds in meat. meat loaf minced or chopped meat moulded into the shape of a loaf and baked. meat safe a cupboard for storing meat, usu. of wire gauze etc. Derivatives: meatless adj. Etymology: OE mete food f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Meat Meat, n. [OE. mete, AS. mete; akin to OS. mat, meti, D. met hashed meat, G. mettwurst sausage, OHG. maz food, Icel. matr, Sw. mat, Dan. mad, Goth. mats. Cf. Mast fruit, Mush.] 1. Food, in general; anything eaten for nourishment, either by man or beast. Hence, the edible part of anything; as, the meat of a lobster, a nut, or an egg. --Chaucer. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, . . . to you it shall be for meat. --Gen. i. 29. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you. --Gen. ix. 3. 2. The flesh of animals used as food; esp., animal muscle; as, a breakfast of bread and fruit without meat. 3. Specifically, dinner; the chief meal. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Meat biscuit. See under Biscuit. Meat earth (Mining), vegetable mold. --Raymond. Meat fly. (Zo["o]l.) See Flesh fly, under Flesh. Meat offering (Script.), an offering of food, esp. of a cake made of flour with salt and oil. To go to meat, to go to a meal. [Obs.] To sit at meat, to sit at the table in taking food.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Meat Meat, v. t. To supply with food. [Obs.] --Tusser. His shield well lined, his horses meated well. --Chapman.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(meats) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Meat is flesh taken from a dead animal that people cook and eat. Meat and fish are relatively expensive. ...imported meat products. ...a buffet of cold meats and salads. N-MASS 2. see also luncheon meat, red meat, white meat

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

met (broma, brosis): In the King James Version used for food in general, e.g. "I had my meat of herbs" (2 Esdras 12:51); "his disciples were gone away into the city to buy meat," the Revised Version (British and American) "food" (Joh 4:8). The English word signified whatever is eaten, whether of flesh or other food.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Food, aliment, nutriment, sustenance, nourishment, provision, victuals, viands, diet, regimen, cheer, subsistence, rations, feed, fare. 2. Flesh (for food), flesh-meat. 3. Edible portion.

Moby Thesaurus

Brazil nut, TLC, act of love, adultery, almond, almond paste, amande, amande douce, amandes mondees, aphrodisia, aspic, ass, axiom, bag, balling, ballocks, balls, barbecue, basics, basis, basket, beard, bench mark, best part, better part, bitter almond, blanched almonds, board, body, boiled meat, bouilli, bread, bread and butter, breasts, bulk, burden, burnt almond, cardinal point, care, carnal knowledge, case, center, cervix, chapter, cheer, chief thing, chow, civet, climax, clitoris, cod, cods, cohabitation, coition, coitus, coitus interruptus, comestibles, commerce, concern, congress, connection, copula, copulation, core, cornerstone, coupling, creature comfort, crisis, critical point, crux, cuisine, cullions, daily bread, diddling, distillate, distillation, eatables, eats, economic support, edibles, elixir, endowment, entertainment, essence, essential, essential matter, essentials, fabric, family jewels, fare, fast food, feast, feed, female organs, flesh, flower, focus, focus of attention, focus of interest, food, food and drink, foodstuff, forcemeat, fornication, fundamental, game, generality, genitalia, genitals, gist, gonads, goober, goober pea, gravamen, great point, ground-pea, groundnut, grub, hachis, hash, head, heading, health food, heart, high point, hot number, hypostasis, important thing, ingesta, inner essence, intercourse, intimacy, issue, jerky, joint, jugged hare, junk food, keep, kernel, keystone, kitchen stuff, labia, labia majora, labia minora, landmark, lingam, lips, livelihood, living, living issue, lovemaking, main body, main point, main thing, maintenance, major part, majority, making it with, male organs, manna, marital relations, marriage act, marrow, mass, material, material point, mating, matter, matter in hand, meal, medium, menue viande, mess, milestone, mince, most, mothering, motif, motive, nigger toe, noisette, noix, nourishment, nub, nucleus, nurture, nut, nutriment, nuts, nuts and bolts, nymphae, onanism, orgasm, ovary, ovum, pareunia, peanut, peanut butter, pemmican, penis, phallus, piece, piece of ass, piece of meat, pith, pivot, plurality, point, point at issue, point in question, postulate, pot roast, price support, principle, private parts, privates, privy parts, problem, procreation, provender, provision, provisions, pubic hair, pudenda, question, quid, quiddity, quintessence, real issue, recap, recapitulation, refection, refreshment, regalement, relations, repas, repast, reproductive organs, resume, roast, rocks, rubric, run-through, rundown, salient point, salted peanuts, sap, sausage meat, scrapple, screwing, scrotum, secondary sex characteristic, sense, sex, sex act, sex goddess, sex object, sex organs, sex queen, sexual climax, sexual commerce, sexual congress, sexual intercourse, sexual relations, sexual union, short, sine qua non, sleeping with, soul, sperm, spermary, spirit, spread, stud, stuff, subject, subject matter, subject of thought, subsidization, subsidy, subsistence, substance, substantive point, subvention, sum, sum and substance, summary, summation, support, sustainment, sustenance, sustentation, sweet almond, table, tender loving care, testes, testicles, text, the bottom line, the nitty-gritty, the point, theme, thrust, topic, treat, tucker, turning point, upkeep, upshot, uterus, vagina, venery, venison, viande, viands, victuals, vittles, vulva, womb, yoni