meter1

[mee-ter] /ˈmi tər/
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.
Also, British, metre.
Origin
1790-1800; < French mètre < Greek métron measure

meter2

[mee-ter] /ˈmi tər/
noun
1.
Music.
  1. the rhythmic element as measured by division into parts of equal time value.
  2. the unit of measurement, in terms of number of beats, adopted for a given piece of music.
    Compare measure (def 14).
2.
Prosody.
  1. poetic measure; arrangement of words in regularly measured, patterned, or rhythmic lines or verses.
  2. 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.
Also, British, metre.
Origin
before 900; Middle English metir, metur, Old English meter < Latin metrum poetic meter, verse < Greek métron measure; replacing Middle English metre < Middle French < Latin as above

meter3

[mee-ter] /ˈmi tər/
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.
2.
parking meter.
verb (used with object)
3.
to measure by means of a meter.
4.
to process (mail) by means of a postage meter.
Also, British, metre.
Origin
1805-15; see mete1, -er1
Related forms
unmetered, adjective

-meter

1.
a combining form meaning “measure,” used in the names of instruments measuring quantity, extent, degree, etc.:
altimeter; barometer.
Compare -metry.
Origin
< Neo-Latin -metrum < Greek métron measure
Examples from the web for meter
  • Whether smart electric meters are ripping off consumers by overstating electricity use is now a matter of debate.
  • Like a little under half of the full meter.
  • The ship was moved one meter.
  • The first electric meter was invented quite by accident.
  • This 146-square-meter (1572-square-foot) apartment, on the 26th floor, has city views.
  • Sisson is consistently plain, if not always clear; in these poems, he is rarely adventurous in meter or language.
  • Three square feet do not equal one square meter.
  • The utility needs to install a new electric meter.
  • In short, Tononi is trying to develop a consciousness meter.
  • While shopping in Brooklyn last fall, he received a ticket for parking -- and not paying -- at a curbside meter.
British Dictionary definitions for meter

meter1

/ˈmiːtə/
noun
1.
the US spelling of metre1

meter2

/ˈmiːtə/
noun
1.
the US spelling of metre2

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
3.
See parking meter
verb (transitive)
4.
to measure (a rate of flow) with a meter
5.
to print with stamps by means of a postage meter
Word Origin
C19: see mete1

metre1

/ˈmiːtə/
noun
1.
a metric unit of length equal to approximately 1.094 yards
2.
the basic SI unit of length; the length of the path travelled by light in free space during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second. In 1983 this definition replaced the previous one based on krypton-86, which in turn had replaced the definition based on the platinum-iridium metre bar kept in Paris
m
Word Origin
C18: from French; see metre²

metre2

/ˈmiːtə/
noun
1.
(prosody) the rhythmic arrangement of syllables in verse, usually according to the number and kind of feet in a line
2.
(music) another word (esp US) for time (sense 22)
Word Origin
C14: from Latin metrum, from Greek metron measure

-meter

combining form
1.
indicating an instrument for measuring: barometer
2.
(prosody) indicating a verse having a specified number of feet: pentameter
Word Origin
from Greek metron measure
Word Origin and History for meter
n.

also metre, "poetic measure," Old English meter "meter, versification," from Latin metrum, from Greek metron "meter, a verse; that by which anything is measured; measure, length, size, limit, proportion," from PIE root *me- "measure" (see meter (n.2)). Possibly reborrowed early 14c. (after a 300-year gap in recorded use) from Old French metre, with specific sense of "metrical scheme in verse," from Latin metrum.

also metre, unit of length, 1797, from French mètre (18c.), from Greek metron "measure," from PIE root *me- "to measure" (cf. Greek metra "lot, portion," Sanskrit mati "measures," matra "measure," Avestan, Old Persian ma-, Latin metri "to measure"). Developed by French Academy of Sciences for system of weights and measures based on a decimal system originated 1670 by French clergyman Gabriel Mouton. Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the length of a quadrant of the meridian.

"device for measuring," abstracted 1832 from gas-meter, etc., from French -mètre, used in combinations (in English from 1790), from Latin metrum "measure" or cognate Greek metron "measure" (see meter (n.2)). Influenced by English meter "person who measures" (late 14c., agent noun from mete (v.)). As short for parking meter from 1960. Meter maid first recorded 1957; meter reader 1963.

v.

"to measure by means of a meter," 1884, from meter (n.3). Meaning "install parking meters" is from 1957.

-meter

word-forming element meaning "device or instrument for measuring; commonly -ometer, occasionally -imeter; from French -mètre, from Greek metron (see meter (n.3)).

meter in Medicine

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.

-meter suff.
Measuring device: refractometer.

meter in Science
meter
  (mē'tər)   
The basic unit of length in the metric system, equal to 39.37 inches. See Table at measurement.
meter in Culture

meter definition


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

meter definition


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.

meter in Technology

spelling
US spelling of "metre".
(1998-02-07)