meal

noun

1. 早（或午、晚）餐；一顿饭
   an occasion when people sit down to eat food, especially breakfast, lunch or dinner
   1. Try not to eat between meals.
      两餐之间尽量别吃东西。
   2. Lunch is his main meal of the day.
      午饭是他的正餐。
   3. to go out for a meal (= to go to a restaurant to have a meal)
      上馆子用餐
   4. What time would you like your evening meal?
      你打算几点钟吃晚饭？
2. 一餐所吃的食物
   the food that is eaten at a meal
   1. Enjoy your meal.
      请用餐。
   2. a three-course meal
      有三道菜的一顿饭
3. 谷物粗粉（用作饲料或加工面粉）
   grain that has been crushed to produce a powder, used as food for animals and for making flour

1. N-COUNT 一餐;一顿饭
   A meal is an occasion when people sit down and eat, usually at a regular time.
   1. She sat next to him throughout the meal...
      用餐时她一直坐在他身旁。
   2. It's rare that I have an evening meal with my children.
      我难得跟孩子们一起吃晚饭。
2. N-COUNT 一餐所吃的食物
   A meal is the food you eat during a meal.
   1. The waiter offered him red wine or white wine with his meal...
      侍者为他端上佐餐的红葡萄酒或者白葡萄酒。
   2. Fresh fish makes a delicious meal.
      新鲜的鱼做菜非常美味。
3. （谷物的）粗磨粉
   Meal is a rough powder made of crushed grain. It is used to make flour or animal food.
4. See also: bone meal
5. PHRASE 花费过多的时间或精力做…;对…小题大做
   If you think someone is taking more time and energy to do something than is necessary, you can say that they are making a meal of it.
   1. Lawyers always make such a meal of the simplest little thing.
      律师总是死抠细节。
6. 健康丰盛的一餐
   If you have a square meal, you have a large healthy meal.

The first meal of the day is called breakfast. The most common word for the midday meal is lunch, but in some parts of Britain, and in some contexts, dinner is used as well. He seldom has lunch at all. ...school dinners. ...Christmas dinner. However, dinner is used mainly to refer to a meal in the evening. ...a celebratory dinner in the evening. In British English, it may also suggest a formal or special meal. Supper and tea are sometimes also used to refer to the evening meal, though for some people, supper is a snack in the late evening and tea is a light meal in the afternoon.
一天中的第一餐称作 breakfast。表示午餐最常用的词是 lunch，但英国有些地方在一些语境中也用 dinner：He seldom has lunch at all (他很少吃午餐)，school dinners (学校的午餐)，Christmas dinner (圣诞午餐)。不过 dinner 主要是指晚餐：a celebratory dinner in the evening (庆祝晚宴)。在英国英语中，dinner 也可以指正餐或特别的一餐。supper 与 tea 有时也指晚餐，不过对于有些人来说，supper 指夜宵，而 tea 则指下午茶。

1. It was a favourite meal on Fridays and fast days, particularly during Lent.
   到了星期五和斋戒日、尤其是大斋期时，这个菜式非常受欢迎。
2. The meal gave the occasion an almost festive air.
   这一餐使整个场合有了近乎节日般的喜庆氛围。
3. We'll cook them a nice Italian meal.
   我们会给他们做一顿美味的意大利餐。
4. I went out for a meal last night and drank copious amounts of red wine
   我昨晚出去吃饭，喝了很多红酒。
5. They dished up a superb meal
   他们准备了一桌丰盛的饭菜。
6. Come and have a meal with us tonight
   今晚来和我们一起吃饭吧。
7. He had been feeling drowsy, the effect of an unusually heavy meal.
   他一直感到昏昏沉沉的，这是吃了一顿超级大餐的结果。
8. The highlight of my day used to be cooking Meg a meal when she came in from work
   过去，我一天中最有意思的事就是在梅格下班回到家时为她做顿饭。
9. If you live alone, you might not want to cook a hot meal every day.
   如果单身居住，你可能不会想每天都做一顿热菜热饭。
10. She sat next to him throughout the meal
    用餐时她一直坐在他身旁。
11. It's rare that I have an evening meal with my children.
    我难得跟孩子们一起吃晚饭。
12. The waiter offered him red wine or white wine with his meal
    侍者为他端上佐餐的红葡萄酒或者白葡萄酒。
13. Lawyers always make such a meal of the simplest little thing.
    律师总是死抠细节。
14. We had a nice meal with a bottle of champagne.
    我们美餐了一顿，还喝了一瓶香槟。
15. My father allowed me only a sip or two of wine with each meal
    我父亲每餐只许我喝一两口酒。
16. I always cook a proper evening meal.
    我总是把晚餐做得很丰盛。
17. He ate quietly, relishing his meal.
    他安静地吃着，细细品味着食物。
18. Ray and I ate our meal and reminisced about the trip
    雷和我吃着饭，回忆起那次旅行。
19. A five-course meal including coffee, service and VAT is £ 30.
    包括咖啡、服务费及增值税在内，一顿五道菜正餐的价格为30英镑。
20. We usually had one slap-up meal a day.
    我们通常一天吃一顿大餐。
21. They haven't had a square meal for four or five days.
    他们已经四五天没吃上一顿像样的饭了。
22. Even if you are on a fairly strict diet you can still go out for a good meal.
    即使是在严格地节食，也可以出去吃顿好的。
23. I could stuff myself with ten chocolate bars and half an hour later eat a big meal.
    我可以一口气吃10块巧克力，半小时后再吃一顿大餐。
24. I suggested to Mike that we go out for a meal with his colleagues
    我向迈克提议，我们和他的同事们一起出去吃饭。
25. Bob and Louise had prepared a sumptuous meal to thaw out our bodies.
    鲍勃和路易丝为我们准备了一顿丰盛的饭菜给我们暖暖身子。
26. When we came home we had a meal waiting for us
    我们到家时，有一顿美餐正等着我们享用。
27. I've paid for the meal.
    饭钱我会过了。
28. He was completely absorbed in reading and forgot even to take his meal.
    他只顾看书，连饭都忘了吃。
29. I feel like a meal.
    我想吃饭。
30. The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.
    残羹剩饭喂狗了。

n.

make a meal of sth

• 小题大做；做事过于认真
  to spend a lot of time, energy, etc. doing sth in a way that other people think is unnecessary and/or annoying

a square meal

• 一顿丰盛的饭
  a good, satisfying meal
  1. He looks as though he hasn't had a square meal for weeks.
     看他那样子，就好像几个星期没吃过一顿像样的饭了。

noun

1. coarsely ground foodstuff

2. the food served and eaten at one time

   Synonym:    repast

3. any of the occasions for eating food that occur by custom or habit at more or less fixed times