meter

1
[ mee-ter ]
See synonyms for: metermeteredmetering on Thesaurus.com

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. Abbreviation: m

Origin of meter

1
First recorded in 1790–1800; from French mètre, from Greek métron “measure”
  • Also especially British, me·tre .

Words Nearby meter

Other definitions for meter (2 of 4)

meter2
[ mee-ter ]

noun
  1. Music.

    • the rhythmic element as measured by division into parts of equal time value.

    • the unit of measurement, in terms of number of beats, adopted for a given piece of music.: Compare measure (def. 14).

  2. Prosody.

    • poetic measure; arrangement of words in regularly measured, patterned, or rhythmic lines or verses.

    • 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.

Origin of meter

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English metir, metur, Old English meter, from Latin metrum “poetic rhythm or meter, verse,” from Greek métron “measure”; replacing Middle English metre, from Middle French metre, from Latin as above
  • Also especially British, me·tre .

Other definitions for meter (3 of 4)

meter3
[ 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),me·tered, me·ter·ing.
  1. to measure by means of a meter.

  2. to process (mail) by means of a postage meter.

Origin of meter

3
First recorded in 1805–15; see origin at mete1, -er1
  • Also especially British, me·tre .

Other words from meter

  • un·me·tered, adjective

Other definitions for -meter (4 of 4)

-meter

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

Origin of -meter

4
<New Latin -metrum<Greek métron measure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use meter in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for meter (1 of 4)

meter1

/ (ˈmiːtə) /


noun
  1. the US spelling of metre 1

British Dictionary definitions for meter (2 of 4)

meter2

/ (ˈmiːtə) /


noun
  1. the US spelling of metre 2

British Dictionary definitions for meter (3 of 4)

meter3

/ (ˈmiːtə) /


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

verb(tr)
  1. to measure (a rate of flow) with a meter

  2. to print with stamps by means of a postage meter

Origin of meter

3
C19: see mete 1

British Dictionary definitions for -meter (4 of 4)

-meter

n combining form
  1. indicating an instrument for measuring: barometer

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

Origin of -meter

4
from Greek metron measure

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

Scientific definitions for meter

meter

[ tər ]


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

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for meter (1 of 2)

meter

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

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.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.