[mee-ter] Pronunciation Key | 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. Abbreviation: m |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
[mee-ter] Pronunciation Key | 1. | Music.
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| 2. | Prosody.
|
] Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
[mee-ter] Pronunciation Key | 1. | an instrument for measuring, esp. one that automatically measures and records the quantity of something, as of gas, water, miles, or time, when it is activated. |
| 2. | parking meter. |
| 3. | to measure by means of a meter. |
| 4. | to process (mail) by means of a postage meter. |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| me·ter 1
(mē'tər) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Middle English, from Old English meter and from Old French metre, both from Latin metrum, from Greek metron, measure, poetic meter; see mē-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| me·ter 2
(mē'tər) Pronunciation Key
n. Abbr. m The international standard unit of length, approximately equivalent to 39.37 inches. It was redefined in 1983 as the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. See Table at measurement. [French mètre, from Greek metron, measure; see mē-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| me·ter 3
(mē'tər) Pronunciation Key
n.
tr.v. me·tered, me·ter·ing, me·ters
[From -meter.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
meter (1)
meter (2)
meter (3)
| meter | |
noun | |
| 1. | the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards) |
| 2. | any of various measuring instruments for measuring a quantity |
| 3. | (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse |
| 4. | rhythm as given by division into parts of equal duration |
verb | |
| 1. | measure with a meter; "meter the flow of water" |
| 2. | stamp with a meter indicating the postage; "meter the mail" |
| meter
(mē'tər) Pronunciation Key
The basic unit of length in the metric system, equal to 39.37 inches. See Table at measurement.
|
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
meter
The highly organized rhythm characteristic of verse; the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line. (See iambic pentameter.)
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
meter
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.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
meter me·ter (mē'tər)
n.
Abbr. m
The standard unit of length in the International System of Units that is equivalent to 39.37 inches.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
meter spelling
US spelling of "metre".
(1998-02-07)
Van Meter, IA (city, FIPS 80445) Location: 41.53046 N, 93.95568 W
Population (1990): 751 (286 housing units)
Area: 1.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 50261
Van Meter, PA Zip code(s): 15479
Meter
Me"ter\, n. [From Mete to measure.]1. One who, or that which, metes or measures. See Coal-meter. 2. An instrument for measuring, and usually for recording automatically, the quantity measured. Dry meter, a gas meter having measuring chambers, with flexible walls, which expand and contract like bellows and measure the gas by filling and emptying. W?t meter, a gas meter in which the revolution of a chambered drum in water measures the gas passing through it.Meter
Me"ter\, n. A line above or below a hanging net, to which the net is attached in order to strengthen it.Meter
Me"ter\, Metre \Me"tre\, n. [OE. metre, F. m[`e]tre, L. metrum, fr. Gr. ?; akin to Skr. m[=a] to measure. See Mete to measure.]1. Rhythmical arrangement of syllables or words into verses, stanzas, strophes, etc.; poetical measure, depending on number, quantity, and accent of syllables; rhythm; measure; verse; also, any specific rhythmical arrangements; as, the Horatian meters; a dactylic meter. The only strict antithesis to prose is meter. --Wordsworth. 2. A poem. [Obs.] --Robynson (More's Utopia). 3. A measure of length, equal to 39.37 English inches, the standard of linear measure in the metric system of weights and measures. It was intended to be, and is very nearly, the ten millionth part of the distance from the equator to the north pole, as ascertained by actual measurement of an arc of a meridian. See Metric system, under Metric. Common meter (Hymnol.), four iambic verses, or lines, making a stanza, the first and third having each four feet, and the second and fourth each three feet; -- usually indicated by the initials C.M. Long meter (Hymnol.), iambic verses or lines of four feet each, four verses usually making a stanza; -- commonly indicated by the initials L. M. Short meter (Hymnol.), iambic verses or lines, the first, second, and fourth having each three feet, and the third four feet. The stanza usually consists of four lines, but is sometimes doubled. Short meter is indicated by the initials S. M.Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.











