Audio Help [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 |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
meter
To learn more about meter visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
Audio Help [mee-ter] Pronunciation Key | 1. | Music.
|
| 2. | Prosody.
|
] | Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Audio Help [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. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
| me·ter 1
Audio Help (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
Audio Help (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
Audio Help (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)
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
meter (2)
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
meter (3)
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| 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" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
meter1 [ˈmiːtə] noun
Example: If you want to know how much electricity you have used you will have to look at the meter.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |
Example: This instrument meters rainfall.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
| meter
Audio Help (mē'tər) Pronunciation Key
The basic unit of length in the metric system, equal to 39.37 inches. See Table at measurement. |
| The American Heritage® Science Dictionary 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.)
[Chapter:] Conventions of Written English
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition 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.
[Chapter:] Physical Sciences and Mathematics
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
meter spelling
US spelling of "metre".
(1998-02-07)
| The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe |
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
| U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau |
Meter
Cen"ti*me`ter\, Centimetre \Cen"ti*me`tre\, n. [F. centim[`e]tre; centi- (L. centum) + m[`e]tre. See Meter.] The hundredth part of a meter; a measure of length equal to rather more than thirty-nine hundredths (0.3937) of an inch. See Meter.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Meter
Cen"ti*me`ter\, Centimetre \Cen"ti*me`tre\, n. [F. centim[`e]tre; centi- (L. centum) + m[`e]tre. See Meter.] The hundredth part of a meter; a measure of length equal to rather more than thirty-nine hundredths (0.3937) of an inch. See Meter.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Meter
Coal"-me`ter\, n. A licensed or official coal measurer in London. See Meter. --Simmonds.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web
Perform a new search, or try your search for "meter" at:
- Amazon.com - Shop for books, music and more
- Reference.com - Encyclopedia Search
- Reference.com - Web Search powered by Google
- Thesaurus.com - Search for synonyms and antonyms














