meatball

IPA/ˈmiːtbɔːl/
KK[mˈitbˌɔl]IPA/ˈmiːtbɔːl/

meatball — noun

  • meatballsingular
  • meatballsplural

1. a small round food made from chopped meat, shaped by hand and cooked, often eate

1.nounB1
Definition

a small round food made from chopped meat, shaped by hand and cooked, often eaten with a sauce

Example

Amara rolled the seasoned pork into small meatballs for the soup.

collocation: rolled [meat] into meatballs

A bowl of Swedish meatballs with creamy sauce arrived at Ravi's table.

collocation: Swedish meatballs + creamy sauce

Common collocations
  • seasoned meatballs
  • homemade meatballs
  • beef meatballs
  • pork meatballs
  • turkey meatballs
  • spaghetti and meatballs
  • Swedish meatballs
  • meatballs in tomato sauce
  • meatballs with pasta
Synonyms
  • meat patty

    flatter and wider in shape, cooked on a griddle or grill, often served in a bun rather than with sauce

  • meatloaf

    large loaf-shaped mixture of ground meat, baked whole and sliced; different cooking method and presentation

  • frikadelle

    a Danish or German pan-fried meat patty similar in ingredients but flat rather than round

Grammar Patterns

meatball + verb (singular)

meatballs + verb (plural)

Usage Note

Like most food nouns, meatball is countable: one meatball, two meatballs. When referring to the dish in general, the plural form is standard ("We are having meatballs for dinner tonight"). The singular form is best used when referring to one specific piece, or when the word is used as a modifier ("meatball sub sandwich").

Common Mistakes

I ate three meatball for lunch.
I ate three meatballs for lunch.
meatball is countable, so the plural form is needed for more than one.
We had meat for dinner last night.' (when meaning meatballs)
We had meatballs for dinner last night.
'meat' is uncountable and refers to the ingredient, not the finished dish.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A meatball is a small round portion of ground meat mixed with breadcrumbs, eggs, and seasonings, then cooked in sauce, broth, or oil at high heat. A meat patty (such as a hamburger patty) is flat and wide, cooked on a griddle or grill, and usually served in a bun. Meatloaf is a large loaf-shaped mixture of ground meat and binders, baked whole in a pan and sliced for serving. A dumpling is a dough-based pocket filled with meat or vegetables, then boiled, steamed, or pan-fried — the filling is enclosed rather than exposed. For example: "I rolled the beef into small meatballs for the spaghetti" (not patties or dumplings). "She pressed the meat into flat patties for the grill" (not balls). "He shaped the mixture into a loaf pan for meatloaf" (not individual balls). These differences in shape, cooking method, and dish structure help learners choose the precise word.

meatloaf ↗meat pattydumpling ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • spaghetti and meatballs
  • Swedish meatballs
  • meatballs in tomato sauce
  • meatballs with pasta

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishOld NorseEnglish

Meatball is a compound of 'meat' (from Old English 'mete', meaning food or sustenance in general) and 'ball' (from Old Norse 'bollr', meaning a round object). The combined word appeared in English cookbooks in the late 1800s, though the dish itself — minced meat shaped into spheres — has existed across many food traditions for centuries, including Italian 'polpette', Swedish 'köttbullar', and Chinese 'shizitou' (lion's head meatballs).