Meat Definition: Pronunciation, Common Phrases, Practice

Look at the phrases used in everyday conversation when talking about meat:

You won’t find many synonyms for “meat”. However, you can add extra details about the type of meat, such as beef or pork.

Related nouns: beef pork chicken turkey lamb duck

Synonyms (contextual): flesh

Common collocations: red meat fresh meat eat meat buy meat meat product

Using adjectives, you can easily describe the state of the meat. For example, whether it is fresh or rotten. Verbs help you tell what you want to do with it — cook, cure, buy, and so on.

With adjectives: white meat raw meat cooked meat frozen meat fatty meat

With verbs: to grill meat to cut meat to eat meat to prepare meat to slice meat

With nouns (noun + noun): meat market meat dish meat section a serving of meat

In addition to the description of meat, we will supply you with some common idioms:

• The nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat — a proverb that is used to describe that something is enjoyable when it comes to an end.

  I finally start enjoying my vacation; however, I will go back home tomorrow. The nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat.

• The meat in the sandwich — a phrase that refers to a situation where a person is between two other people who are arguing.

  Since my parents got divorced, I’ve been the meat in the sandwich.

• To put some meat on someone’s bones — means to gain some weight. It is also used to provide someone with essential details.

  Your plan is really good. Could you put some meat on its bones?

We prepared some activities that will allow you to learn what meat means and help you check your knowledge of idioms, collocations, and usage rules.

How about learning how to spell “meat” in other popular languages? Here you can read these words and listen to their pronunciation:

How much meat do we eat every year? What countries consume the biggest amount of meat? What is the base for alternative meat? Let’s not only define “meat” but dig deeper.

• By 2025, meat production is going to reach 540 million tons a year

  The number is now around 370 million tons a year. Twenty years ago, it was 280 million tons, and seventy years ago, it was only 70 million tons. Chicken and turkeys are the most popular types of meat, followed by pork.

• Francisco Alonso cut a 30-metre-long piece of meat

  According to the Guinness World Record, the man took a ham leg and cut it in a snake-like manner, working hard for several hours to have a piece so long. Francisco demonstrated what skills a professional cutter can possess.

• An average American person eats around 100 kilograms of meat a year

  Countries such as Mongolia, the USA, Argentina, and Australia regularly include meat in their diets. In the European Union, Spain is the country where people eat a lot of meat, with an average of 105 kg per person.

• Meat alternatives are mostly made of wheat, soy, and beans

  However, the situation with meat may be different in the future. Redefine Meat, Beyond Meatballs and many other brands introduce plant-based options that may change the way we think about meat.

Mainly, sayings about meat are divided into two categories: praising its good taste or blaming it for major problems.

— Confucius

Explanation: Such a simple action can tell a lot about a person. For example, you can cut meat neatly or roughly, with care or carelessness. That’s how people were judged hundreds of years ago.

— Sir Paul McCartney

Explanation: The singer decided to become a vegetarian after observing lambs. He actively promotes this, introducing the idea of Meat-Free Monday that offers people the idea to say “no” to meat at least once a week.

— Gwyneth Paltrow

Explanation: In her book about cooking, the actress noted the desire that can appear even in those people who follow a very strict diet. She wrote many books, including “Intuitive Fasting” and “Notes From My Kitchen.”