meter

A2 Topic:Music Theory

Also spelled metre

US /ˈmitəɹ/ UK /ˈmiːtə/ See IPA manual

Freq #6852

Meanings

1

noun
A unit of length equal to 100 centimetres (US spelling of 'metre').

The pool is fifty meters long.
2

noun
A device that measures and records an amount, such as gas, water, or electricity used.

A man came to read the electricity meter.
3

verb
To measure something with a meter.

The company meters the flow of water to each house.
4

noun
The regular rhythm of beats in poetry or music.

The poem is written in a steady meter.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

4 noun · the regular rhythm of beats... time measure

Word family

Forms meteredmeteringmeters

Derived forms anglemeterbimetercoal-metere-meterflowmeterglossmeterhendecameterheptameterhexameterhypermetermeterablemeterage

Related forms metster

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

meter reading
the value shown by an instrument that measures a quantity

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English meter, metre, from Old English meter and Old French metre; both from Latin metrum, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron).

*meh₁- Proto-Indo-European meter Old English metre Old French metrum Latin μέτρον Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Music Theory Mathematics & Measurement

External links

# meter

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈmitəɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmiːtə/
**Frequency rank:** 6852

## Meanings
1. A unit of length equal to 100 centimetres (US spelling of 'metre').
2. A device that measures and records an amount, such as gas, water, or electricity used.
3. To measure something with a meter.
4. The regular rhythm of beats in poetry or music.

## Examples
- The pool is fifty meters long.
- A man came to read the electricity meter.
- The company meters the flow of water to each house.
- The poem is written in a steady meter.

## Derived Forms
- anglemeter
- bimeter
- coal-meter
- e-meter
- flowmeter
- glossmeter
- hendecameter
- heptameter
- hexameter
- hypermeter
- meterable
- meterage

## Related Forms
- metster

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *meh₁-
- Root: meter
- Root: metre
- Root: metrum
- Root: μέτρον

## Etymology
From Middle English meter, metre, from Old English meter and Old French metre; both from Latin metrum, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron).

## AI Etymology
Meter comes from Middle English meter, metre, from Old English meter and Old French metre; both from Latin metrum, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron). In present-day English its meanings include a unit of length equal to 100 centimetres (US spelling of 'metre'), a device that measures and records an amount, such as gas, water, or electricity used, and to measure something with a meter. The historical chain runs through *meh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), meter (Middle English), meter (Old English), metre (Old French), and metrum (Latin). Related and derived forms include metster, anglemeter, bimeter, and coal-meter.

## Topics
- Music Theory
- Mathematics & Measurement

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