Meating vs Meeting: Correct Spelling, Meaning & Examples

Many people do. It is a common spelling slip. Here is the quick fix for Meating vs Meeting.The word “meeting” is the correct spelling. It means people coming together to talk or plan. “Meating” is not a real English word. It looks like “meat,” which is why people mix it up.

This guide keeps things simple. You will learn the meaning, the spelling rule, and easy examples. By the end, you will never mix them up again. Let’s clear it up.

Ever typed “team meating at 3 PM” and wondered if something looked off? You’re not alone. “Meating” and “meeting” look almost identical on screen, and they sound the same out loud. Only one of them is correct in modern English.

Meating vs Meeting: The Quick Answer

“Meeting” is the correct spelling. “Meating” is not a standard English word.

Feature	Meeting	Meating
Correct in modern English?	Yes	No
Part of speech	Noun, or verb form (present participle of “meet”)	None (a misspelling)
Meaning	A gathering, an encounter, or a point where things join	No accepted meaning
Example	“The meeting starts at noon.”	❌ “The meating starts at noon.”

Quick rule: 

If you mean a gathering of people, write meeting. If you mean animal flesh, the word is meat.

What Does Meeting Mean?

“Meeting” comes from the verb meet, which comes from the Old English metan, meaning “to encounter.” The word has several related senses:

• A planned gathering of people for a purpose
• A chance encounter between people
• A point where two things join or cross

Dictionaries also treat it as the -ing form of “meet,” so it works both as a noun and inside verb phrases.

Examples

• The meeting begins at 10 a.m.
• We had a meeting with the principal.
• Their meeting was pure luck.
• The meeting of the two rivers creates a wide delta.
• She is meeting her client tomorrow.

What Does Meating Mean?

In modern standard English, “meating” has no accepted meaning. You won’t find it as a headword in major dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster or Oxford.

When people write it, they almost always mean one of two things:

1. Meeting (a gathering), a spelling slip
2. Meat-related wording, such as adding meat to a dish

Examples

These show how “meating” usually appears by mistake:

• ❌ “Please join the meating at 4 p.m.” (should be meeting)
• ❌ “We’re meating our new manager today.” (should be meeting)
• ❌ “The meating room is on the second floor.” (should be meeting room)

Is Meating Actually a Real Word?

Not in everyday modern English. But the full story is a bit more interesting.

Older English had many spelling variants. The word for food, “mete” in Old and Middle English, eventually became today’s “meat.” In old texts, rare forms built on that root can appear, and you may also see odd dialect or hobby-specific uses online.

Still, none of that makes “meating” correct in school, business, or publishing.

Bottom line:

• Use meeting for gatherings.
• Use meat for food.
• Skip “meating” in all current writing.

Why People Confuse Meating and Meeting

Mixing these up is easy. A few clear reasons explain why.

They Sound Similar

“Meat” and “meet” are homophones. They share the same sound, /miːt/. So “meeting” and a made-up “meating” sound identical when spoken. Writers who spell by ear can easily grab the wrong version.

Typing Errors

The words differ by one letter swap: ee vs ea. On a fast keyboard, fingers slip. Your eyes then skim past it because the word looks right.

Autocorrect Doesn’t Always Help

Spell checkers catch “meating” in most cases. But they can miss it when:

• The word sits inside a name or hashtag
• Autocorrect is switched off
• You’re typing on a phone and tap “send” quickly
• A custom dictionary has accepted the error

Lack of Familiarity

Learners of English, and even native speakers, meet many -ea- and -ee- pairs: seat/seed, beat/beet, read/reed, heal/heel. With so many look-alikes, it’s natural to blur them.

What Is a Meeting?

A meeting is an event where two or more people come together for a shared reason. The reason might be to decide, discuss, update, celebrate, or just talk.

Core elements of a meeting:

• People (at least two)
• A purpose
• A place (physical or digital)
• A time

That’s why “meeting” feels so central to work and daily life.

Different Types of Meetings

Not all meetings look alike. Here are the most common types:

Type	Purpose	Example
Team meeting	Share updates and tasks	Weekly project check-in
One-on-one meeting	Feedback and coaching	Manager and employee
Board meeting	Major decisions	Quarterly business review
Client meeting	Present or negotiate	Sales pitch
Staff meeting	Policies and announcements	School faculty gathering
Parent-teacher meeting	Discuss student progress	Report-card review
Virtual meeting	Remote collaboration	Zoom or Google Meet call
Emergency meeting	Urgent response	Crisis planning

Business Meetings and Why They Matter

Businesses depend on meetings to align goals, make decisions, and keep people connected. When done well, a meeting saves time instead of wasting it. When done poorly, it drains focus and energy.

Characteristics of Effective Meetings

Good meetings tend to share these traits:

• A clear agenda shared ahead of time
• A defined goal, such as a decision or an update
• The right people invited, no more, no fewer
• A time limit that is respected
• Action items assigned at the end
• Short follow-up notes sent afterward

A tight meeting is easy to spot: people leave knowing what to do next.

Meeting as a Noun

As a noun, “meeting” names an event or an act of coming together.

Examples

• The meeting lasted forty minutes.
• I have a meeting at lunchtime.
• That was a productive meeting.
• The meeting was postponed until Monday.
• A chance meeting changed her career.

Meeting as Part of a Verb Phrase

“Meeting” is also the present participle of “meet.” It appears with helper verbs like is, are, was, were.

Examples

• I am meeting my sister after class.
• They are meeting in the lobby.
• She was meeting a vendor when the alarm rang.
• We will be meeting at the café.
• He has been meeting mentors every month.

Tip: 

Add the helper verb and “meeting” becomes an action, not an event.

Examples of Meeting in Everyday Life

At School

• The class meeting starts after recess.
• Our teacher is meeting parents on Friday.
• The student council holds a meeting every Tuesday.

At Work

• The marketing meeting moved to 2 p.m.
• Please send the meeting agenda by noon.
• I’m meeting the hiring manager this afternoon.

In Personal Life

• We’re meeting friends for dinner.
• Their first meeting was at a bus stop.
• The family meeting settled the holiday plans.

Online

• Join the video meeting using the link below.
• The online meeting starts in five minutes.
• She’s meeting her book club on a video call.

Examples of Meating in Sentences

Because “meating” is a misspelling, the examples below show what not to write.

Incorrect	Correct
The meating is at 9 a.m.	The meeting is at 9 a.m.
I’m meating her tomorrow.	I’m meeting her tomorrow.
Book the meating room.	Book the meeting room.
The board meating ran late.	The board meeting ran late.

Historical Examples

English spelling was far less fixed centuries ago. Writers often spelled the same word several ways, and the root of “meat” appeared as mete, meete, or mette depending on the era and region. Scribes and printers had no standard dictionary to follow.

Standardization changed that. As dictionaries and printing rules spread, the spellings meat (food) and meeting (gathering) settled into the forms we use today. Variants like “meating” faded out.

Why Meating Sounds Wrong Today

Several things make “meating” look off to modern readers:

• No dictionary entry. Readers don’t recognize it.
• It resembles “meat.” The eye reads “meat + ing,” which suggests something food-related.
• Style guides reject it. Editors flag it right away.
• Search and spellcheck tools mark it. The red underline is a cue.

When a word draws attention to itself for the wrong reason, it hurts your credibility.

Common Mistakes With Meating and Meeting

Incorrect

• ❌ The meating has been rescheduled.
• ❌ We’re having a meating with our supplier.
• ❌ I’ll be meating you at the station.
• ❌ Don’t be late for the staff meating.

Correct

• ✅ The meeting has been rescheduled.
• ✅ We’re having a meeting with our supplier.
• ✅ I’ll be meeting you at the station.
• ✅ Don’t be late for the staff meeting.

Related confusion: A similar slip happens with meat and meet. Writers sometimes type “nice to meat you” or “make ends meat.” The correct forms are “nice to meet you” and “make ends meet.”

Meating vs Meeting in Professional Writing

In emails, reports, and proposals, a spelling slip is quick to spot. “Meating” in a subject line can make a message look rushed.

Best practices:

• Proofread subject lines twice.
• Use your email client’s spell check.
• Read invites and agendas out loud before sending.
• Keep a reusable template with “Meeting” already spelled correctly.

Clean spelling signals care, and care builds trust with clients and coworkers.

Meating vs Meeting in Academic Writing

Essays, theses, and journal articles hold writers to a high standard. Instructors often take marks off for repeated spelling errors, and a misspelled “meeting” in a methods section can look careless.

Quick academic tips:

• Run a spell check, then a manual check.
• Read your paper backwards, sentence by sentence, to catch typos.
• Use consistent terms: board meeting, committee meeting, focus group meeting.

British English vs American English

Good news: there’s no difference here. Both British and American English spell it meeting. “Meating” is not accepted in either variety.

Feature	American English	British English
Correct spelling	meeting	meeting
Past tense of “meet”	met	met
“Meating” accepted?	No	No

Common Phrases Using the Word Meeting

Business Phrases

• Board meeting, a gathering of company directors
• Team meeting, a regular check-in for a group
• Meeting minutes, the written record of a meeting
• Meeting agenda, the list of topics to cover
• Kick-off meeting, the first meeting of a project
• Meeting of the minds, a shared understanding

Social Phrases

• Chance meeting, an unplanned encounter
• Meeting point, a place where people agree to gather
• Meeting halfway, compromising with someone
• Family meeting, a talk among relatives
• Meeting someone’s eye, making eye contact

Digital Phrases

• Video meeting, a face-to-face call over the internet
• Meeting link, the web address used to join
• Meeting invite, a calendar request
• Meeting room, a virtual or physical room
• Meeting recording, a saved copy of the call

Easy Tricks to Remember the Difference

You don’t need to memorize rules. A couple of simple tricks do the job.

The Event Rule

A meeting is an EVENT with people. Think of the double ee as two people standing side by side. If it involves people coming together, use ee.

The Meat Rule

Meat has “eat” inside it. You eat meat. If you’re not talking about food, don’t use ea. And since “meating” isn’t a word at all, the safest move is to drop it.

A Simple Memory Diagram

Use this quick visual to lock it in:

       WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

               |

     ———————

     |                   |

 People gathering     Animal food

     |                   |

   MEETING              MEAT

  (ee = two people)   (eat = food)

   MEATING = ❌ Not a word

Read it like this:

 pick the meaning first, and the spelling follows.

Case Study: A Small Typo That Changed the Meaning

(This is an illustrative scenario, not a real company example.)

A project manager at a mid-sized firm sent a calendar invite titled “Client Meating – Friday 10 AM.” The client, a restaurant supplier, assumed the invite was about a meat-industry theme and sent a delivery schedule instead of a project update. Two colleagues also forwarded the invite with jokes in the thread. The real agenda was a software demo.

What went wrong:

• One letter swap caused confusion about the topic.
• It looked unprofessional to an outside client.
• The team lost time clarifying.

What fixed it:

• A corrected invite titled “Client Meeting: Software Demo”
• A shared checklist that includes a quick spell check on every invite

Lesson: 

A tiny typo can slow communication and weaken first impressions.

Why Correct Spelling Matters

Spelling may seem like a small thing, but it does real work:

• Builds trust. Clean writing feels reliable.
• Prevents confusion. Readers get the right message the first time.
• Helps SEO and discoverability. Search engines match correct terms best.
• Supports your brand. Consistent quality shows professionalism.
• Saves time. Fewer corrections, fewer follow-ups.

When your spelling is right, people focus on your message instead of your mistakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it “meating” or “meeting”?

Meeting is correct. “Meating” is not a standard English word.

Is “meating” a real word?

No. It has no accepted meaning in modern dictionaries.

What does “meeting” mean?

It’s a gathering of people for a purpose, or an act of coming together.

What is the difference between “meat” and “meet”?

“Meat” is animal flesh used as food; “meet” means to come together with someone.

Why do people write “meating” instead of “meeting”?

Mostly because the two sound alike and fingers slip on the keyboard.

Is “meeting” a noun or a verb?

Both: it’s a noun for an event and the -ing form of the verb “meet.”

Can I use “meating” in British English?

No. British and American English both use “meeting.”

How can I remember the correct spelling?

Think “two people, two e’s”: meeting. Meat has “eat” in it.

What is the past tense of “meet”?

It’s met, as in “We met yesterday.”

Does autocorrect always catch “meating”?

Not always, so proofread subject lines and invites yourself.

Final Thought

The answer is simple: write “meeting” for any gathering or encounter, and “meat” for food. “Meating” has no place in modern writing. A quick check, using the event rule or the “eat in meat” trick, takes just a second and keeps your emails, essays, and invites polished.

Next time you schedule a call, glance at that subject line once more. Small details, done right, make a big impression.