Mealtime is the time of day when you sit down to a meal — breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Families talk about mealtime as a regular slot: “Don’t call at mealtime.” Schools and hospitals use it for the hours when food is served. It is a plain, everyday word, not fancy. It names the occasion, not the food itself. You can also say mealtimes when you mean those hours as a habit. Though actually, people stretch it a little: a snack in front of the television may not feel like a real mealtime, even if you are eating. The heart of the word is still “the usual time for a proper meal.”