Meal (noun): a serving of food eaten at a specific time, such as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It denotes the portion and occasion rather than the act of cooking, and often implies a complete sustenance intake. In everyday use, it can also refer to a formal gathering or the food set before someone.
"We’re planning a light meal for the afternoon and a bigger dinner later."
"The restaurant offers a tasting menu that showcases seasonal meals."
"She prepared a simple meal of pasta and salad for the guests."
"During the retreat, participants shared communal meals to build camaraderie."
Meal comes from Old English mal “meal, food, course of eating,” related to Dutch maal and German Mahl, from Proto-Germanic *matiz, with roots in PIE *mād-, meaning “to measure, portion.” Early senses connoted the portion or course of food served at a meal, later broadening to the occasion of eating. By Middle English, meal referred to a fixed portion or a feast item, distinguishing it from drink or sustenance alone. Over centuries, as dining customs evolved, the word settled into common usage for any defined food intake at a particular time, such as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The everyday sense of a prepared, complete dish or set of dishes became dominant in modern English, while regional terms continued to diversify. First known written uses appear in medieval texts describing meals at communal gatherings, kitchens, and households, solidifying meal as both a unit of nourishment and a social event. The semantic trajectory tracks from a measurable serving to a habitual time-bound eating occasion, retaining the core idea of a structured, shared edible experience.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Meal" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Meal"
-eal sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Meal is pronounced with a long tense /iː/ vowel followed by the alveolar /l/. IPA: US/UK/AU: /miːl/. Start with a light, high front vowel like see, then finish with a clear /l/ with the tongue touching the alveolar ridge. Stress is on the single syllable. In connected speech, the vowel length can be slightly shortened, but the /iː/ should remain perceptible. Audio reference: listen for the steady high-front vowel before the dark L at the end.
Common errors include shortening the /iː/ to a short /ɪ/ (saying ‘mil’) and turning the final /l/ into a softer, blended sound. Another mistake is inserting a schwa before the L (mi-əl). Correct by maintaining a tense, long /iː/ and placing the tongue for a light but clear alveolar L: tip of the tongue lightly grazing the alveolar ridge while the blade stays high. Practice with minimal pairs like 'meal' vs 'mile' to feel the difference.
In all three accents, /miːl/ remains, but vowel quality can differ. US tends to have a tenser /iː/ with crisper /l/ at the end. UK typically has a slightly less forceful onset and a clear but not heavily consonantal final L. Australian pronunciation is vowel-forward with a broad, bright /iː/ and a more relaxed final L. The rhyme is consistent—meal rhymes with feel, peel, seal, deal—but the preceding vowel length and consonant clarity shift subtly by accent.
Because you must sustain a long high-front vowel /iː/ and then transition into a precise alveolar L without vocalic leakage. The difficulty lies in maintaining vowel height while the tongue shifts toward the alveolar ridge for the L, especially in rapid speech where the vowel can be reduced. Ensure the jaw stays relatively relaxed, and use a light tongue contact for /l/ to avoid an extra vowel sound creeping in.
Meal has a clear, tense front vowel /iː/ and a dark-alveolar L that is produced with the tongue blade near the alveolar ridge and the tip optionally curled slightly upward. This combination is easy to lose in connected speech if you slide into a reduced vowel or merge the L into a vowel. Focus on keeping the /iː/ long and distinct from the final /l/ contact to maintain clarity.
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