Meta tags are html tags that tell the search engines what's on your page. They include a general site description, a list of your most important keywords, and copyright information.
The title and description tags are what you see on the results page when you do a keyword search. When optimizing your website, it's important to set up your tags in a way the search engines will like.
Take the time to set up your tags properly. It'll make search engine submission a breeze later. Use the link below for some examples on how to format your tags in html.