Dictionary

mealtime en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English meeltime, from Old English mǣltīma (“mealtime”), equivalent to meal + time. Compare mealtide, Old English mǣltīd (“mealtime”), Dutch maaltijd (“meal”), German Mahlzeit (“meal, mealtime”), Danish måltid (“meal, mealtime”), Icelandic máltíð (“meal”), Icelandic matmálstími (“mealtime”).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The appointed time at which a meal is served or eaten.
   • As the 3DS gets closer to launch, and in spite of my assertions that I’ll be turning the 3D off for my youngest, I still find myself inundated with questions about the new console most mealtimes. 2011 February 4, Andy Robertson, “Playground Report on Pilotwings Resort 3DS”, in Wired, archived from the original on 03 Jul 2025:
   • My youngest son has a special cry for mealtimes.
   • Since mealtime has been the traditional setting for family interaction, Tending the Family Tree is structured to simulate that setting. We suggest that the sessions be scheduled during mealtime when the group can eat, discuss, and worship together. 1982, Mary Ylvisaker Nilsen, “[Introduction] Brief Description of the Course”, in Tending the Family Tree: A Family-centered, Bible-based Experience for Church Groups, Minneapolis, Minn.: Winston Press, →ISBN, page 2, columns 1–2:

Forms

Hyponyms

breakfast-time · teatime · lunchtime · suppertime · dinnertime

Synonyms

mealtide

Translations (9)

nl etenstijd (time at which a meal is eaten) · bg време за хранене (time at which a meal is eaten) · cmn 進餐時間 /进餐时间 (time at which a meal is eaten) · nb måltid (time at which a meal is eaten) · fi ruoka-aika (time at which a meal is eaten) · nb mål (time at which a meal is eaten) · nah tlacualizpan (time at which a meal is eaten) · fa وعده غذا (time at which a meal is eaten) · mhn molzait (time at which a meal is eaten)