What does "meat" mean?
The flesh (muscle tissue) of an animal used as food, or a food designed to replicate its taste and texture (like plant-based meat).
Meat
/miːt/ noun, slang
noun, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The flesh (muscle tissue) of an animal used as food, or a food designed to replicate its taste and texture (like plant-based meat).
- Grammar: meat is listed as noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: core, essence, flesh, nub.
- Useful contrasts: cauliflowers, chou, cockleshells.
- Usage evidence: Meat is very expensive nowadays.
How to use "meat"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "meat" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "meat" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "meat" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "meat" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "meat" is acting as noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "core" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "meat", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The flesh (muscle tissue) of an animal used as food, or a food designed to replicate its taste and texture (like plant-based meat). uncountable
"A large portion of domestic meat production comes from animals raised on factory farms."
- 2 the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience wordnet
- 3 A type of meat, by anatomic position and provenance. countable
"The butchery's profit rate on various meats varies greatly."
- 4 the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food wordnet
- 5 Food, for animals or humans, especially solid food. See also meat and drink. archaic, countable, dialectal, uncountable
"I was anhongred, and ye gave me meate. I thursted, and ye gave me drinke."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 the inner and usually edible part of a seed or grain or nut or fruit stone wordnet
- 7 A type of food, a dish. archaic, countable, uncountable
- 8 A meal. archaic, countable, uncountable
"And hit cam to passe, thatt Jesus satt at meate in his housse."
- 9 Meal; flour. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 10 Any relatively thick, solid part of a fruit, nut etc. uncountable
"The apple looked fine on the outside, but the meat was not very firm."
- 11 A penis. countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar
"He sits me on the floor (the shower is still beating down on us). He lays me down and slides his huge meat into me."
- 12 The best or most substantial part of something. colloquial, countable, uncountable
"[…]it is time to begin "A Dialogue between Viator and Piscator," which is the meat of the matter."
- 13 The sweet spot of a bat or club (in cricket, golf, baseball etc.). countable, uncountable
"He hit it right on the meat of the bat."
- 14 A meathead. countable, slang, uncountable
"Throw it in here, meat."
- 15 A totem, or (by metonymy) a clan or clansman which uses it. countable, uncountable
"When a stranger comes to an aboriginal camp or settlement in north-western NSW, he is asked by one of the older aborigines: "What meat (clan) are you?""
Antonyms
Example
"Meat is very expensive nowadays."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "meat"?
Common synonyms include: core, essence, flesh, nub, abalone, act of love.
How do you use "meat" in a sentence?
Meat is very expensive nowadays.
How do you pronounce "meat"?
Pronounced /miːt/.
Etymology
From Middle English mete, from Old English mete (“food”), from Proto-West Germanic *mati, from Proto-Germanic *matiz (“food”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“to drip, ooze; grease, fat”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian Miit (“meat”), Danish mad (“food”), Faroese and Icelandic matur (“food, meal”), Norn mader (“food”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish mat (“food”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐍄𐍃 (mats, “food”). A -ja- derivation from the same base is found in Middle Dutch and Middle Low German met (“lean pork”), from which Dutch met (“minced pork”) and German Mett (“minced meat”) derive, respectively. Compare also Old Irish mess (“animal feed”) and Welsh mes (“acorns”), English mast (“fodder for swine and other animals”), which are probably from the same root.