meat

meat S2 W3 /miːt/ BrE AmE noun
[Language: Old English; Origin: mete 'food']
1. [uncountable and countable] the flesh of animals and birds eaten as food:
I gave up eating meat a few months ago.
raw meat
a meat pie
a selection of cold meats
red meat (=a dark-coloured meat, for example ↑beef)
white meat (=meat that is pale in colour, for example ↑chicken)
2. [uncountable] something interesting or important in a talk, book, film etc:
There’s no meat to their arguments.
We then got down to the real meat of the debate (=the main and most interesting part of it).
3. somebody doesn’t have much meat on him/her British Englishneed some (more) meat on your bones American English informal used to say that someone looks very thin
4. one man’s meat is another man’s poison used to say that something that one person likes may not be liked by someone else
5. be easy meat British English informal if someone is easy meat, they are easy to defeat, deceive, or hurt
be easy meat for
San Marino should be easy meat for England in next week’s match.
6. the meat and potatoes American English informal the most important or basic parts of a discussion, decision, piece of work etc:
Let’s get down to the meat and potatoes. How much are you going to pay me for this?
7. be meat and drink to somebody British English to be something that someone enjoys doing or finds very easy to do because they have done it many times before:
The first five questions in the quiz were about football, which was meat and drink to Brian.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ eat meat I don't eat meat - I'm vegetarian. | People are eating less meat these days.
▪ have meat in it (=contain meat) Does this stew have meat in it?
■ adjectives
▪ raw (=not cooked) The dogs are fed on raw meat.
▪ cooked How will I know when the meat is cooked?
▪ undercooked (=not cooked enough) Eating undercooked meat can make you very ill.
▪ tough (=difficult to chew) The meat was tough and chewy.
▪ lean (=with little fat) Try to eat more lean meat, fish and chicken.
▪ fatty (=with a lot of fat) People are being urged to eat less fatty meat.
▪ red meat (=a dark-coloured meat such as beef) For health reasons, you should eat less red meat.
▪ white meat (=a light-coloured meat such as chicken) White meat is supposed to be healthier.
■ phrases
▪ a joint of meat British English (=a large piece of meat, sometimes containing a bone) He began to carve the joint of meat.
▪ a cut of meat (=a joint of meat taken from a particular part of an animal) Cheaper cuts of meat can be tough.
▪ a slice of meat (=a thin piece of meat cut from a larger piece) He helped himself to another slice of meat.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

meat

meat [meat meats] [miːt] [miːt] noun
1. uncountable, countable the flesh of an animal or a bird eaten as food; a particular type of this
• a piece/slice of meat
• horse meat (= from a horse)
• dog meat (= for a dog)
• meat-eating animals
• There's not much meat on this chop.
• (figurative, humorous) There's not much meat on her (= she is very thin).

see also luncheon meat, mincemeat, red meat, sausage meat, white meat

2. uncountable ~ (of sth) the important or interesting part of sth
Syn: substance
• This chapter contains the real meat of the writer's argument.
more at dead meat at dead, one man's meat is another man's poison at man _n.
Idiom: meat and drink to somebody
Word Origin:
Old English mete ‘food’ or ‘article of food’ (as in sweetmeat), of Germanic origin.
Example Bank:
• Britain's meat consumption
• Do you eat meat?
• Fry the meat in a little olive oil.
• He eventually found employment as a meat cutter.
• I'm not a great meat eater.
• It was so cold, it was like a meat locker.
• She always buys the cheaper cuts of meat.
• Simmer the meat for 30 minutes until tender.
• That meat smells rotten.
• The animals do not hunt and rarely consume meat.
• The meat has gone off.
• These pies have a low meat content.
• Turn the meat frequently to brown it.
• a plate of cold meats
• chewing on the tough meat

• recipes for simple meat dishes

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

meat / miːt / noun (FOOD)

A1 [ U ] the flesh of an animal when it is used for food:

I don't eat meat.

raw meat

red/white meat

[ C ] a type of meat:

a buffet of cold meats and cheeses

meat / miːt / noun [ U ] (INTEREST)

important, valuable, or interesting ideas or information:

It was a nicely written article and quite amusing but there wasn't much meat to it.

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

meat

/mi:t/
(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

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

meat

meat /ˈmiːt/ noun, pl meats
1 a [noncount] : the flesh of an animal used as food
• She doesn't eat meat.
• a piece/slice of meat
• raw meat
• (US) ground meat
• meat sauce [=sauce that contains meat]
✦Meat often refers specifically to the flesh of mammals or birds instead of the flesh of fish. It can also sometimes refer only to the flesh of mammals.
• She eats fish but not meat.
• The soup can be made with meat, chicken, or fish.
b [count] : a type of meat
• The restaurant serves a variety of meats.
• sandwich meats
- see also dark meat, luncheon meat, white meat
2 [noncount] : the part of something (such as a nut) that can be eaten
• coconut meat
3 [noncount] : the most important or interesting part of something
• The real meat of the book is found in its discussion of his economic plan.
4 [noncount] US : the thickest part of something (such as a baseball bat)
• He hit the ball right on the meat of the bat.