noun phrase · neutral

ready-made meal

UK/ˌrɛdiˈmeɪd miːl/US/ˌrɛdiˈmeɪd mil/READY·made MEAL

Band 5-6speakingtask2

A complete meal that is prepared in advance and sold ready to eat or reheat.

Examples

I bought a ready-made meal from the supermarket for dinner.

During busy weeks I rely on ready-made meals.

Frozen ready-made meals can be convenient but are often high in salt.

Band 8 sentence

While ready-made meals offer convenience for busy professionals, reliance on them can undermine efforts to maintain a healthy diet.

Collocations

  • frozen ready-made meals
  • buy ready-made meals
  • reheat a ready-made meal

Word family

ready-made adjectivemeal noun

Common mistakes

ready mealready-made meal

ready made mealready-made meal

Say it for a higher band

5takeaway6frozen meal7+ready-made meal

Synonyms

pre-prepared meal

Easily confused

processed food

Although convenient, many ready-made meals are highly processed.

Related words

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In Food & Cooking

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