Words / B1

RED-eem-eel/ˈredi miːl/

A ready meal (id: ready-meal) is a cooked supermarket meal you only heat, usually from the chilled or freezer aisle (UK). US TV dinner or prepared meal. A takeaway is cooked in a restaurant; a ready meal is packaged from a shop. Countable: a ready meal for one.

Meaning

A cooked meal from the supermarket that you only heat up (UK).

Examples

• “I grabbed a ready meal from the chilled aisle after work.”
• “The ready meal says oven ten minutes, not microwave, if you want crisp pastry.”
• “We keep a couple of ready meals for nights when the shops are shut.”

Good to know

a ready meal (UK). US: a TV dinner / prepared meal. Contrast: a takeaway / cooking from scratch.

Near in meaning

TV dinner

New