meta
1pertaining to or noting a story, conversation, character, etc., that consciously references or comments upon its own subject or features, often in the form of parody: A movie about making a movie is just so meta—especially when the actors criticize the acting.
pertaining to or noting an abstract, high-level analysis or commentary, especially one that consciously references something of its own type.
a consciously and playfully self-referential story, conversation, etc.: That dialogue was an example of meta at its best.
an abstract, high-level analysis or commentary: writing a meta to explain the character’s motivation.
to analyze or comment on something in a meta way: I spend more time metaing about the show than actually watching it.
Origin of meta
1Other definitions for meta (2 of 6)
(in ancient Rome) a column or post, or a group of columns or posts, placed at each end of a racetrack to mark the turning places.
Origin of meta
2Other definitions for meta (3 of 6)
pertaining to or occupying two positions (1, 3) in the benzene ring that are separated by one carbon atom.
Origin of meta
3- Compare ortho, para3 (def. 1).
Other definitions for meta (4 of 6)
Origin of meta
4Other definitions for Meta (5 of 6)
a female given name.
Other definitions for meta- (6 of 6)
a prefix appearing in loanwords from Greek, with the meanings “after,” “along with,” “beyond,” “among,” “behind,” and productive in English on the Greek model: metacarpus; metagenesis.
a prefix added to the name of a subject and designating another subject that analyzes the original one but at a more abstract, higher level: metaphilosophy; metalinguistics.
a prefix added to the name of something that consciously references or comments upon its own subject or features: a meta-painting of an artist painting a canvas.
Chemistry.
Origin of meta-
6- Also especially before a vowel, met- .
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for Meta (1 of 2)
/ (ˈmeɪtə, Spanish ˈmeta) /
a river in Colombia, rising in the Andes and flowing northeast and east, forming part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela, to join the Orinoco River. Length: about 1000 km (620 miles)
British Dictionary definitions for meta- (2 of 2)
indicating change, alteration, or alternation: metabolism; metamorphosis
(of an academic discipline, esp philosophy) concerned with the concepts and results of the named discipline: metamathematics; meta-ethics See also metatheory
occurring or situated behind or after: metaphase
(often in italics) denoting that an organic compound contains a benzene ring with substituents in the 1,3-positions: metadinitrobenzene; meta -cresol Abbreviation: m- Compare ortho- (def. 4), para- 1 (def. 6)
denoting an isomer, polymer, or compound related to a specified compound (often differing from similar compounds that are prefixed by para-): metaldehyde
denoting an oxyacid that is a lower hydrated form of the anhydride or a salt of such an acid: metaphosphoric acid Compare ortho- (def. 5)
Origin of meta-
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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