Outline of meals

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to meals:

Meal – eating occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes specific, prepared food, or the food eaten on that occasion.[1][2] The names used for specific meals in English vary greatly, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal. Meals occur primarily at homes, restaurants, and cafeterias, but may occur anywhere. Regular meals occur on a daily basis, typically several times a day. Special meals are usually held in conjunction with such occasions as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and holidays. A meal is different from a snack in that meals are generally larger, more varied, and more filling than snacks.[3] Meals are composed of one or more courses,[4] which in turn are composed of one or more dishes.

  1. ^ meal noun (FOOD) - definition in the British English Dictionary & Thesaurus - Cambridge Dictionaries Online
  2. ^ meal – Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online
  3. ^ Wansink, B.; Payne, C. R.; Shimizu, M. (2010). ""Is this a meal or snack?" Situational cues that drive perceptions". Appetite. 54 (1): 214–216. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2009.09.016. PMID 19808071. S2CID 21246397.
  4. ^ Andrew F. Smith (1 May 2007). The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press. pp. 19–. ISBN 978-0-19-530796-2. Retrieved 24 August 2013.