Meat is the flesh of animals that people eat as food. When you have chicken for dinner, beef in a taco, or bacon at breakfast, you're eating meat. The word can refer to meat from different animals: pork comes from pigs, beef from cattle, lamb from sheep, and poultry from birds like chickens and turkeys.

Throughout human history, meat has been a major source of protein and nutrition. Hunter-gatherers tracked and hunted wild animals. Later, people began raising livestock like cattle, pigs, and chickens specifically for meat. Different cultures have different traditions about which meats they eat: for instance, many people in India don't eat beef for religious reasons, while pork is avoided in Jewish and Muslim traditions.

The word can also mean the most important or substantial part of something. The meat of an argument is its main point, not the introduction or examples. If your teacher asks for the meat of your book report, she wants the essential ideas, not just plot summary. When someone says “let's get to the meat of the matter,” they mean let's focus on what really counts.