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View synonyms for

meter

1

[ mee-ter ]

noun

  1. the fundamental unit of length in the metric system, equivalent to 39.37 U.S. inches, originally intended to be, and being very nearly, equal to one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the pole measured on a meridian: defined from 1889 to 1960 as the distance between two lines on a platinum-iridium bar (the “International Prototype Meter”) preserved at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris; from 1960 to 1983 defined as 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red radiation of krypton 86 under specified conditions; and now defined as 1/299,792,458 of the distance light travels in a vacuum in one second. : m


meter

2

[ mee-ter ]

noun

  1. Music.
    1. the rhythmic element as measured by division into parts of equal time value.
    2. the unit of measurement, in terms of number of beats, adopted for a given piece of music. Compare measure ( def 14 ).
  2. Prosody.
    1. poetic measure; arrangement of words in regularly measured, patterned, or rhythmic lines or verses.
    2. a particular form of such arrangement, depending on either the kind or the number of feet constituting the verse or both rhythmic kind and number of feet (usually used in combination):

      pentameter; dactylic meter; iambic trimeter.

meter

3

[ mee-ter ]

noun

  1. an instrument for measuring, especially one that automatically measures and records the quantity of something, as of gas, water, miles, or time, when it is activated.

verb (used with object)

metered, metering.
  1. to measure by means of a meter.
  2. to process (mail) by means of a postage meter.

-meter

4
  1. a combining form meaning “measure,” used in the names of instruments measuring quantity, extent, degree, etc.:

    altimeter; barometer.

-meter

1

combining form

  1. indicating an instrument for measuring

    barometer

  2. prosody indicating a verse having a specified number of feet

    pentameter

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

meter

2

/ ˈːə /

noun

  1. the US spelling of metre 1
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

meter

3

/ ˈːə /

noun

  1. the US spelling of metre 2
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

meter

4

/ ˈːə /

noun

  1. any device that measures and records the quantity of a substance, such as gas, that has passed through it during a specified period
  2. any device that measures and sometimes records an electrical or magnetic quantity, such as current, voltage, etc
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to measure (a rate of flow) with a meter
  2. to print with stamps by means of a postage meter
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

meter

  1. The basic unit of length in the metric system, equal to 39.37 inches.
  2. See Table at measurement

meter

1
  1. The highly organized rhythm characteristic of verse ; the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line. ( See iambic pentameter .)

meter

2
  1. The basic unit of length in the metric system ; it was originally planned so that the circumference of the Earth would be measured at about forty million meters. A meter is 39.37 inches. Today, the meter is defined to be the distance light travels in 1 / 299,792,458 seconds.
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Other Word Forms

  • ܲ·t adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of meter1

First recorded in 1790–1800; from French èٰ, from Greek éٰDz “m𲹲ܰ”

Origin of meter2

First recorded before 900; Middle English metir, metur, Old English meter, from Latin metrum “poetic rhythm or meter, verse,” from Greek éٰDz “m𲹲ܰ”; replacing Middle English metre, from Middle French metre, from Latin as above

Origin of meter3

First recorded in 1805–15; mete 1, -er 1

Origin of meter4

< New Latin -metrum < Greek éٰDz measure
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Word History and Origins

Origin of meter1

from Greek metron measure

Origin of meter2

C19: see mete 1
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The industry body also requested that water meters be universal across England and Wales to make bills fairer.

From

Even though it looked brilliant up close, you couldn’t really tell what was going on from more than six meters away.

From

"I was a few meters from shore," he said.

From

When he was chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Lewis Strauss — the Robert Downey Jr. character in “Oppenheimer” — predicted in 1954 that our children would enjoy nuclear power “too cheap to meter.”

From

Through running the 400 meters and lifting weights, he’s improving his speed, strength and stamina.

From

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