Freebase(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition: Meal. A meal is an instance of eating, specifically one that takes place at a specific time and includes specific, prepared food. Meals occur primarily at homes, restaurants, and cafeterias, but may occur anywhere.
An en dash (â) is most commonly used to indicate a range of numbers. It is longer than a hyphen although a hyphen with spaces surrounding it can be used if a dash is not available. In Microsoft Word, doing this will automatically change the hyphen into an en dash. (Example: August 13âAugust 18, or pages 29â349. Note that there should be no space around the en dash.)
A double hyphen is a dash. That is, when you put a double dash in a manuscript, a printer will transpose it into a longer em dash. It is often used in pairs, so it is the equivalent of parentheses, or even commas around a clause or phrase. The double dash is also called an em dash.. It has recognized uses, but mostly, as I say above, in place of parentheses. Here is what Chicago says about the em or double dash:6.87Versatility and frequency of use The em dash, often simply called the dash, is the most commonly used and most versatile of the dashes. To avoid confusion, no sentence should contain more than two em dashes; if more than two elements need to be set off, use parentheses