meter

• metre (Commonwealth English for noun senses 2 and 3, rare for other senses)

Senses 1.1, 2, and 3 were borrowed from French mètre and Latin metrum; see metre for more.

Sense 1.2 is a noun derived from mete, from Old English metan (“to measure, mark off”), possibly influencing the other meanings.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmitəɹ/, [ˈmiɾɚ]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmiːtə/
• Rhymes: -iːtə(ɹ)

meter (countable and uncountable, plural meters)

1. A device that measures things.
   1. A parking meter or similar device for collecting payment.

      gas meter

   2. (dated) One who metes or measures.

      a labouring coal-meter

2. (American spelling) Alternative form of metre
3. (obsolete) A poem.
   • 1551, Thomas More, “(please specify the Internet Archive page)”, in Raphe Robynson [i.e., Ralph Robinson], transl., A Fruteful, and Pleasaunt Worke of the Best State of a Publyque Weale, and of the Newe Yle Called Utopia: […], London: […] [Steven Mierdman for] Abraham Vele, […], →OCLC:

     A meter of […] berses in the Utopian tongue

4. (American spelling) A line above or below a hanging net, to which the net is attached in order to strengthen it.

meter (third-person singular simple present meters, present participle metering, simple past and past participle metered)

1. To measure with a metering device.
2. To imprint a postage mark with a postage meter.
3. To regulate the flow of or to deliver in regulated amounts (usually of fluids but sometimes of other things such as anticipation or breath).

• -metre, -treme, Emert, metre, remet, retem

From Latin mittere, present active infinitive of mittō.

• IPA^(key): /meˈte(ɾ)/
• Rhymes: -e(ɾ)
• Syllabification: me‧ter

meter

1. to put

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

meter c (singular definite meteren, plural indefinite meter)

1. a metre, or meter (US) (SI unit of measurement)

• “meter” in Den Danske Ordbog

• IPA^(key): /ˈmeːtər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: me‧ter
• Rhymes: -eːtər

From meten +‎ -er.

meter m (plural meters, diminutive metertje n)

1. meter (device that measures things or indicates a physical quantity)

   Ik heb een meter nodig om de stroom in dit circuit te meten. ― I need a meter to measure the current in this circuit.

   De meters in het laboratorium zijn zeer nauwkeurig. ― The meters in the laboratory are very precise.

   Kun je dat kleine metertje even doorgeven? ― Can you pass that small meter please?

2. measurer (person who measures something)

Borrowed from French mètre.

meter m (plural meters, diminutive metertje n)

1. meter, metre (unit of distance)

   De kamer is vijf meters breed. ― The room is five meters wide.

   Ze liep een afstand van tien meters in de race. ― She ran a distance of ten metres in the race.

   Dit kleine metertje touw is alles wat ik over heb. ― This small metre of rope is all I have left.

• Afrikaans: meter
• → Aukan: meiti
• → Caribbean Javanese: mèter
• → Indonesian: meter
• → Papiamentu: meter

From Middle Dutch meter, from metrijn, from Latin matrīna.

meter f (plural meters, diminutive metertje n, masculine peter)

1. godmother

   Synonyms: peettante, petemoei

   Ze is de trotse meter van haar neefje. ― She is the proud godmother of her nephew.

   Mijn zus werd gevraagd om meter te zijn bij de doop. ― My sister was asked to be the godmother at the baptism.

   Elk kind in ons gezin heeft een meter en een peter. ― Every child in our family has a godmother and a godfather.

From Old Galician-Portuguese meter, from Latin mittō, mittēre (“to send, put”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- (“to exchange, remove”).

• IPA^(key): /meˈteɾ/ [meˈt̪eɾ]
• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Hyphenation: me‧ter

meter (first-person singular present meto, first-person singular preterite metín, past participle metido)

1. (transitive) to put
2. (transitive) to insert
3. (transitive) to bring in
4. (pronominal) to meddle, interfere
5. (transitive) to deliver

   Meteulle unha patada. ― He delivered him a kick.

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “meter”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “meter”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “meter”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “meter”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɛ.tər]
• Hyphenation: mè‧têr

• From Dutch meter, meten, from Middle Dutch mēten, from Old Dutch metan, from Proto-Germanic *metaną, from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”).
• From Dutch meter, from French mètre, from Latin metrum, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”).

Doublet of metrum.

mètêr (first-person possessive meterku, second-person possessive metermu, third-person possessive meternya)

1. meter, a device that measures things.
2. meter, metre, the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI).

   Sebatang pohon setinggi 5 meter akan digambar dengan skala 1:25.

   A 5-meter tall tree will be drawn on a scale of 1:25.

From Dutch meter, from Middle Dutch meter, from metrijn, from Latin matrīna.

mètêr (first-person possessive meterku, second-person possessive metermu, third-person possessive meternya)

1. godmother.

• “meter” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

From Sanskrit मूत्र (mūtrá).

meter ?

1. urine

• Eric Anonby, Hassan Mohebi Bahmani (2014) “Shipwrecked and Landlocked: Kholosi, an Indo-Aryan Language in South-west Iran”, in Cahier de Studia Iranica xx‎^[1], pages 13-36

From Latin mittere, present active infinitive of mittō.

meter

1. to put, place

• Ladin conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

meter

1. to put

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmeː.ter/, [ˈmeːt̪ɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈme.ter/, [ˈmɛːt̪er]

mēter

1. first-person singular present active subjunctive of mētor

From English metre or meter, from French mètre, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure, rule, length, size, poetic metre”).

• IPA^(key): [mi.tə(r)]
• Rhymes: -tər, -ər
• Hyphenation: me‧ter

meter (Jawi spelling ميتر, plural meter-meter, informal 1st possessive meterku, 2nd possessive metermu, 3rd possessive meternya)

1. A meter:
   1. The basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International d'Unités); a metre or meter.

      lima meter ― five metres

   2. A device that is used to measure and record something (distance, quantity of something used, etc.).

      meter air ― water meter

• “meter” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

From French mètre, from Latin metrum (“a measure”), from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron).

meter m (plural meter)

1. meter (unit of measure)

• “meter” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

meter m (definite singular meteren, indefinite plural meter, definite plural meterne)

1. a metre, or meter (US) (SI unit of length)

meter m (definite singular meteren, indefinite plural meter, definite plural meterane or metrane)

1. a metre, or meter (US) (SI unit of length)

• metter (obsolete)

From Old Galician-Portuguese meter, from Latin mittere (“to send, to put”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- (“to exchange, remove”).

• Hyphenation: me‧ter

• Audio (Northern Portugal):

  (file)

meter (first-person singular present meto, first-person singular preterite meti, past participle metido)

1. (transitive) to put
2. (transitive) to insert
3. (reflexive) to meddle, interfere
   • 2012, Luís Fernando Veríssimo, “Padre Alfredo”, in Diálogos Impossíveis, Rio de Janeiro: Editora Objetiva, →ISBN, page 27:

     — Já pensaram no que vem por aí? Uma vida inteira, juntos? As brigas, às vezes por mesquinharia? O ciuminho? Os sogros se metendo? As diferenças: filme de pancadaria ou filme romântico? Luz acesa para um ler quando o outro quer dormir? Um não podendo viver sem ar refrigerado, apesar da rinite do outro? Já pensaram?

4. (transitive, vulgar) to fuck, screw

• cometer
• prometer

• “meter”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2024
• “meter” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “meter”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
• “meter”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2024
• “meter”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024

• IPA^(key): [ˈmecer]

meter m inan

1. meter, metre (unit of length)

• “meter”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2024

meter m

1. meter, metre (unit of length)

• “meter”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2024

Inherited from Old Spanish meter, from Latin mittō (“to send”), probably from Proto-Indo-European *mey-th₂- (“to exchange, remove”). Cognate with English mess (sense 2) and also mission, message. Compare also French mettre, Friulian meti, Portuguese meter, and Italian mettere. The semantic shift from "send" to "put" probably occurred in Vulgar Latin.

• IPA^(key): /meˈteɾ/ [meˈt̪eɾ]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: me‧ter

meter (first-person singular present meto, first-person singular preterite metí, past participle metido)

1. to put in, insert

   Synonym: poner

2. (sports) to score

   meter un gol ― to score a goal

3. to make (noise)
4. to cram, to stuff, to stick, to shove
5. (reflexive) to meddle, interfere, to get into

   Synonyms: inmiscuirse, meter la nariz

   ¡No te metas en lo que no te importa!

   Don't get involved in other people's business!/ Don't meddle in others' affairs!

6. (reflexive) to get into (a small space)
7. (reflexive) to get into, to get in

   meterse en problemas ― to get in trouble.

   Está tratando de meterse en tu cabeza.

   He's trying to get into your head.

• “meter”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28

Borrowed from English meter.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmeːtɛr/

• Audio:

  (file)

meter c

1. a metre; the SI-unit
2. (music) Rhythm or measure in verse
3. a meter; a device that measures things.

Borrowed from English meter.

meter

1. meter