- [countable]
an occasion when people eat food, especially breakfast, lunch or dinner 早（或午、晚）餐；一顿饭 Try not to eat between meals. 两餐之间尽量别吃东西。 Lunch is his main meal of the day. 午饭是他的正餐。 - (especially British English)
to go out for a meal (= to go to a restaurant to have a meal) 去餐馆用餐 What time would you like your evening meal? 你打算几点钟吃晚饭？
More About mealsmeals- People use the words dinner, lunch, supper and tea in different ways depending on which English-speaking country they come from. In Britain it may also depend on which part of the country or which social class a person comes from.
- A meal eaten in the middle of the day is usually called lunch. If it is the main meal of the day it may also be called dinner in British English, especially in the north of the country and in schools:
I make sure my kids have a hot school dinner, not just a packed lunch. 我确保我的孩子们有一顿热腾腾的学校晚餐，而不仅仅是一顿打包的午餐。
- A main meal eaten in the evening is usually called dinner, especially if it is a formal meal. Supper is also an evening meal, but more informal than dinner and usually eaten at home. It can also be a late meal or something to eat and drink before going to bed.
- In British English, tea is a light meal in the afternoon with sandwiches, cakes, etc. and a cup of tea:
a cream tea. 奶油茶点
tea 亦可指傍晚主餐，尤指孩子傍晚食用的： What time do the kids have their tea? 孩子们什么时候用傍晚主餐？
- As a general rule, if dinner is the word someone uses for the meal in the middle of the day, they probably call the meal in the evening tea or supper. If they call the meal in the middle of the day lunch, they probably call the meal in the evening dinner.
一般说来，若午餐叫 dinner，晚餐则大多叫 tea 或 supper。如果午餐叫 lunch，晚餐则大多叫 dinner。 - Brunch, a combination of breakfast and lunch, is becoming more common, especially as a meal where your guests serve themselves.
brunch 是早餐和午餐合二为一的早午餐，如今日趋普遍，尤为自助餐形式。
Collocations RestaurantsRestaurants 餐馆 Eating out 去餐馆吃饭 - eat (lunch/dinner)/dine/meet at/in a restaurant
在一家餐馆吃（午／晚）饭／进餐／碰面 - go (out)/take somebody (out) for lunch/dinner/a meal
去／带某人去（外面）吃午饭／吃晚饭／用餐 - have a meal with somebody
与某人一起吃饭 - make/have a reservation (in/under the name of Yamada)
（以山田的名字）预订座位 - reserve/ (especially British English) book a table for six
预订一张坐六人的桌子 - ask for/request a table for two/a table by the window
要一张两人桌／靠窗的桌子
In the restaurant 在餐馆 - wait to be seated
等待就座 - show somebody to their table
把某人引到桌旁 - sit in the corner/by the window/at the bar/at the counter
坐在角落／窗边／吧台边／柜台边 - hand somebody/give somebody the menu/wine list
把菜单／酒水单递给某人 - open/read/study/peruse the menu
打开／看／仔细看菜单 - the restaurant has a three-course set menu/a children’s menu/an extensive wine list
这餐馆有一个三道菜的套餐／儿童菜单／丰富的酒水单 - taste/sample/try the wine
品尝葡萄酒 - the waiter takes your order
服务生帮你点餐 - order/choose/have the soup of the day/one of the specials/the house (British English) speciality/(especially North American English) specialty
点当日例汤／一道特色菜／餐馆特色菜 - serve/finish the first course/the starter/the main course/dessert/coffee
端上／吃完第一道菜／开胃菜／主菜／甜点；端上／喝完咖啡 - complain about the food/the service/your meal
抱怨食物／服务／饭菜不好 - enjoy your meal
享用饭菜
Paying 结账 - pay/ask for (especially British English) the bill/(North American English) the check
付账；要求结账 - pay for/treat somebody to dinner/lunch/the meal
付晚饭／午饭／饭钱；请某人吃晚饭／午饭／饭 - service is (not) included
不含服务费 - give somebody/leave (somebody) a tip
给某人小费
Culture mealsmealsAmericans and British people generally eat three meals a day though the names vary according to people's lifestyles and where they live.The first meal of the day is breakfast. The traditional full English breakfast served in many British hotels may include fruit juice, cereal (= a food made from processed grains and eaten with milk), bacon and eggs, often with sausages and tomatoes, toast (= slices of bread cooked until they turn brown) and marmalade (= jam made with oranges and similar fruit), and tea or coffee. Few people have time to prepare a cooked breakfast at home and most have only cereal and/or toast with tea or coffee. Others buy coffee and a pastry on their way to work.The traditional American breakfast includes eggs, some kind of meat and toast. Eggs may be fried, ‘over easy’, ‘over hard’ or ‘sunny side up’, or boiled, poached, scrambled or in an omelette (= beaten together and fried). The meat may be bacon or sausage. People who do not have time for a large meal have toast or cereal and coffee. It is common for Americans to eat breakfast in a restaurant. On Saturday and Sunday many people eat brunch late in the morning. This consists of both breakfast and lunch dishes, including pancakes and waffles (= types of cooked batter) that are eaten with butter and maple syrup (= a sweet, sticky sauce produced from a type of maple tree).Lunch, which is eaten any time after midday, is the main meal of the day for some British people, though people out at work may have only sandwiches. Some people also refer to the midday meal as dinner. Most workers are allowed about an hour off work for it, called the lunch hour. Many schools offer a cooked lunch (school lunch or school dinner), though some students take a packed lunch of sandwiches, fruit, etc. Sunday lunch is special and is, for many families, the biggest meal of the week, consisting traditionally of roast meat and vegetables and a sweet course. In the US lunch is usually a quick meal, eaten around midday. Many workers have a half-hour break for lunch, and buy a sandwich from near their place of work. Business people may sometimes eat a larger lunch and use the time to discuss business.The main meal of the day for most people is the evening meal, called supper, tea or dinner. It is usually a cooked meal with meat or fish or a salad, followed by a sweet course. In Britain younger children may have tea when they get home from school. Tea, meaning a main meal for adults, is the word used in some parts of Britain, especially when the evening meal is eaten early. Dinner sounds more formal than supper, and guests generally receive invitations to ‘dinner’ rather than to ‘supper’. In the US the evening meal is called dinner and is usually eaten around 6 or 6.30 p.m. In many families, both in Britain and in the US, family members eat at different times and rarely sit down at the table together.Many people also eat snacks between meals. Most have tea or coffee in the middle of the morning, often called a coffee break. In Britain in the past this was sometimes also called elevenses. In the afternoon many British people have a tea break. Some hotels and cafes serve afternoon tea which consists of tea or coffee and a choice of sandwiches and cakes. When on holiday people sometimes have a cream tea of scones, jam and cream. In addition many people eat chocolate bars, biscuits (NAmE cookies) or crisps (NAmE chips). Some British people have a snack, sometimes called supper, consisting of a milk drink and a biscuit before they go to bed. In the US children often have milk and cookies after school.Extra ExamplesTopics Cooking and eatinga1I'm so busy I have to snatch meals when I can. 我太忙了，只能是抽空赶紧吃点儿饭。 The family was always noisy at meal times. 吃饭的时候家总是闹哄哄的。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- filling
- heavy
- …
- [countable]
the food that is eaten at a meal 一餐所吃的食物 Enjoy your meal. 请用餐。 a three-course meal 有三道菜的一顿饭 They are learning to cook simple, healthy meals. 他们正在学习做简单健康的饭菜。
Extra ExamplesHot meals are not available after 10 o'clock. 10 点以后不供应热餐。 Thanks for a delicious meal. 谢谢你美味可口的饭菜。 I always want to go to sleep after a heavy meal. 饱餐一顿后我总是发困。 That night he made her favourite meal. 那天晚上，他做了她最喜欢的饭菜。 The bar serves light meals. 那个酒吧供应便餐。 a meagre meal of bread and cheese 只有面包和奶酪的简单一餐 She has very little time to prepare home-cooked meals. 她几乎没有时间自己烧饭。 60 pupils qualified for free school meals. 60名学生有资格享受免费校餐。 There's a growing reliance on processed food and ready meals. 人们越来越依赖加工食品和即食食品。 The centre offers snacks and a hot midday meal. 该中心提供小吃和热午餐。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- filling
- heavy
- …
- [uncountable]
(often in compounds 常构成复合词 grain that has been made into a powder, used as food for animals and for making flour 谷物粗粉（用作饲料或加工面粉） see also barium meal, bonemeal, mealie meal, oatmeal, wholemeal
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 2 Old English mǣl (also in the sense ‘measure’, surviving in words such as piecemeal ‘measure taken at one time’), of Germanic origin. The early sense of meal involved a notion of “fixed time”; compare with Dutch maal ‘meal, (portion of) time’ and German Mal ‘time’, Mahl ‘meal’, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to measure’.noun sense 3 Old English melu, meolo, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch meel and German Mehl, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin molere ‘to grind’.
Idioms
make a meal of something
- (informal)
to spend a lot of time, energy, etc. doing something in a way that other people think is unnecessary and/or annoying 小题大做；做事过于认真 Why do you have to make such a meal of everything? 你为什么非要把一切都做成这样的一顿饭呢？
a square meal
a good meal that satisfies your hunger 饱餐；丰盛的一餐