Phrase guide

square meal

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /skwɛə ˈmiːl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /skwɛː-/
  • General-American: /skwɛɚ ˈmil/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːl

1

noun

Meaning 1

A (nutritionally) complete and satisfying meal, especially one suitable for a person performing physical labour.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • Three square meals a day should give you plenty of energy.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: square

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see square, meal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a substantial and nourishing meal

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he seldom got three square meals a day

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: meal, repast

History

Etymology

From square (“hearty, vigorous”) + meal;

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: наедак (najedak) — complete and satisfying meal
  • Catalan: àpat complet — complete and satisfying meal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 飽餐 /饱餐 (bǎocān) — complete and satisfying meal
  • Chinese Mandarin: 美餐 (měicān) — complete and satisfying meal
  • Estonian: tõhus söömaaeg — complete and satisfying meal
  • Finnish: reilu ateria — complete and satisfying meal
  • French: bouffe — complete and satisfying meal
  • French: boustifaille — complete and satisfying meal
  • Italian: pasto completo — complete and satisfying meal
  • Ladino: almorzo — complete and satisfying meal
  • Polish: pełny posiłek — complete and satisfying meal
  • Portuguese: refeição completa — complete and satisfying meal
  • Romanian: masă consistentă — complete and satisfying meal
  • Spanish: comida abundante — complete and satisfying meal