meal
meal — 名詞
- mealsingular
- mealsplural
1. a time when you eat food, or the food itself that you eat at that time — such as
餐;一頓飯
固定時間進食或所吃的食物
a time when you eat food, or the food itself that you eat at that time — such as a morning meal, a midday meal, or an evening meal
The whole Silva family gathers for a big meal every Sunday evening.
Silva 全家每週日晚上都會聚在一起吃一頓豐盛的晚餐。
collocation: big meal / light meal / square meal
Dylan forgot to eat lunch, so he made himself a quick meal before the meeting.
Dylan 忘了吃午餐,所以在開會前匆匆弄了一頓簡單的餐點。
make + meal (prepare food to eat)
The chef prepared a three-course meal for the guests at the wedding reception.
主廚為婚宴的賓客準備了一頓三道菜的餐點。
Eri usually has her biggest meal of the day at dinner time after work.
Eri 通常在下班後的晚餐時間吃當天最豐盛的一餐。
Many schools now provide free breakfast and lunch meals for children who need them.
現在許多學校為有需要的孩子提供免費的早餐和午餐。
- snack
a small amount of food eaten between meals
文法句型
have/eat + a/the/one's + meal
常見錯誤
2. a dry, rough powder made by crushing seeds or grain, used mainly to feed animals
粗磨粉
種子或穀物磨成的粗糙粉末
a dry, rough powder made by crushing seeds or grain, used mainly to feed animals or to make flour for baking
The farmer bought a large sack of corn meal to feed the chickens over winter.
農夫買了一大袋玉米粗粉,準備在冬天餵雞。
meal as animal feed
Niran ground the dried seeds into a coarse meal using a traditional stone mill.
Niran 用傳統的石磨將乾燥的種子磨成粗糙的粉末。
collocation: coarse meal / fine meal
Traditional flatbread in this region is made from barley meal rather than wheat flour.
這個地區的傳統扁麵包是用大麥粉製作的,而非小麥麵粉。
Manuela uses almond meal instead of regular flour to give her cakes a richer texture.
Manuela 用杏仁粉代替一般麵粉,讓她的蛋糕口感更為濃郁。
文法句型
[type of grain] + meal
meal + [used as food/feed]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 — this meaning refers to crushed grain powder, not a food event. The two meanings come from different historical roots and do not share the same origin.
常見錯誤
meal — 副詞
1. used at the end of some words to mean 'in portions or parts of a certain size at
逐份
以某種份量逐一進行
used at the end of some words to mean 'in portions or parts of a certain size at one time' — the most common example is 'piecemeal', meaning one piece or part at a time
The old brick wall was taken down piecemeal to avoid damaging the house next door.
那堵舊磚牆被逐段拆除,一次只拆一部分,以免損壞隔壁的房子。
common word: piecemeal (one part at a time)
Chidi reads long research papers piecemeal rather than all at once.
Chidi 偏好逐章閱讀長篇研究論文,而不是一次全部讀完。
The government reformed the tax system piecemeal over several years.
政府花了數年時間逐步推行稅制改革。
The company plans to sell its factory equipment piecemeal to get the best prices.
公司計劃分批出售工廠設備,以爭取最好的價格。
- gradually
similar meaning but not formed with -meal; suggests slow progress rather than deliberate division into portions
- bit by bit
an equivalent phrase expressing the same idea of doing something in small stages
- all at once
doing something completely in a single action, not divided into portions
文法句型
[noun/measure] + -meal
用法筆記
This is a combining form, not a standalone word. It attaches to nouns or measures to form adverbs. 'Piecemeal' is by far the most common example; other historical forms (e.g. 'inchmeal', 'dropmeal') are now very rare or obsolete.