Definition

Noun: - The time at which a meal is usually eaten: Refers to the habitual or customary hour for having a meal, such as breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Usage

"Mealtime" is used to refer to the scheduled or traditional time for eating a main meal. It emphasizes the regularity of the event rather than the act of eating itself. - Family conversation is important at mealtime. - The hospital has strict mealtimes for patients.

Examples

Advanced Usage

• "To disrupt mealtime": To interfere with the usual time for eating.
  • Unexpected visitors can disrupt the family mealtime.

Variants and Related Words

• Meal (n): The food eaten during a mealtime.
  • We had a light meal at lunchtime.
• Dinnertime / Lunchtime / Breakfast time (n): Specific words for the customary times of particular meals.
  • He always reads the newspaper at breakfast time.

Synonyms

• Dining hour: A more formal term for mealtime.
• Meal hour: A less common synonym with the same meaning.

Notes

"Mealtime" is a compound noun formed from "meal" and "time." It is typically used in the singular (e.g., "at mealtime") but can be pluralized when referring to multiple different customary eating times (e.g., "family mealtimes"). It does not commonly form phrasal verbs or idioms.

Noun

1. the hour at which a meal is habitually or customarily eaten