metre en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈmiːtəɹ/ (General-American)
- (US) audio
- (UK) audio
- /ˈmiːtə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- [ˈmiːɾɚ] (General-American)
Etymology
From French mètre, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure, rule, length, size, poetic metre”). Doublet of meter, metron, and mether.
Meanings
-
The basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International d'Unités), equal to the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299 792 458 seconds. The metre is equal to 39+⁴⁷⁄₁₂₇ (approximately 39.37) imperial inches.
A dress length of 8 metres of the best quality costs 58 francs.
1873 April, The Young Englishwoman:The measures of length above the metre are ten times ... greater than the metre.
1797, The Monthly magazine and British register, number 3:It is not permissible to use abbreviations for unit symbols or unit names, such as sec (for either s or second), sq. mm (for either mm² or square millimetre), cc (for either cm³ or cubic centimetre), or mps (for either m/s or metre per second).
2025 August 14, “The International System of Units (SI)”, in Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, archived from the original on 17 Sep 2025, page 147:It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black mustache and ruggedly handsome features.
1949 June 8, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC, Part I, Chapter I:Meronyms: picometre < nanometre < micrometre < millimetre < centimetre < decimetre
Holonyms: kilometre < megametre < gigametre < terametre < petametre
The 12-metre yachts ... can be sailed efficiently with four paid hands.
1928 April 15, The Observer:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| meter | alternative | lexicographic | |
| metres | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
attometre · decimetre · femtometre · metre-kilogram-second · micrometre · metre-kilogramme-second · yottametre · ronnametre · linear metre · metre stick · exametre · metrication · square metre · millimetre · metre-tonne-second · terametre · metric · metre gauge · metre-ton-second · decametre · quettametre · polymetre · yoctometre · metre per second · myriametre · zettametre · nanometre · metrology · cubic metre · centimetre · newton metre · kilometre · cumec · megametre · gigametre · zeptometre · 1000 metre · newton-metre · kilogram-metre · metre-gauge · hectometre
Descendants
米突 · mita · メーター · 미터 · mítà · meter · mita · 메터 · မီတာ · මීටර් · mita · மீட்டர்
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (117)
mi mita (unit of length) · lv metrs (unit of length) · tl metro (unit of length) · izh metra (unit of length) · gu મીટર (unit of length) · io metro (unit of length) · uk метр (unit of length) · tg метр (unit of length) · cmn 公尺 (unit of length) · shn မႅတ် (unit of length) · ja メートル (unit of length) · ht mèt (unit of length) · te మీటరు (unit of length) · fa-ira مِتْر (unit of length) · si මීටර් (unit of length) · ba метр (unit of length) · nan-hbl 米 (unit of length) · cmn 米 (unit of length) · vi mét (unit of length) · hak 米 (unit of length) · hy մետր (unit of length) · pl metr (unit of length) · yue 公尺 (unit of length) · dng ми (unit of length) · khb ᦶᦙᧆ (unit of length) · nan-hbl 公尺 (unit of length) · ti ሜትሮ (unit of length) · bn মিটার (unit of length) · fr mètre (unit of length) · sk meter (unit of length) · am ሜትር (unit of length) · be мэ́тар (unit of length) · gl metro (unit of length) · haw mīka (unit of length) · sh mȅtar (unit of length) · pt metro (unit of length) · az metr (unit of length) · lo ແມັດ (unit of length) · dng метр (unit of length) · be метр (unit of length) · my မီတာ (unit of length) · hak 公尺 (unit of length) · sw mita (unit of length) · sh ме̏тар (unit of length) · ur میٹر (unit of length) · ko 메터 (unit of length) · kn ಮೀಟರು (unit of length) · hi मीटर (unit of length) · sl meter (unit of length) · ru метр (unit of length) · th เมตร (unit of length) · ug مېتىر (unit of length) · arz متر (unit of length) · ky метр (unit of length) · cmn 米突 (unit of length) · yi מעטער (unit of length) · es metro (unit of length) · jra mĕt (unit of length) · fo metur (unit of length) · tl panukat (unit of length) · hu méter (unit of length) · ia metro (unit of length) · da meter (unit of length) · nl meter (unit of length) · ko 미터 (unit of length) · ml മീറ്റർ (unit of length) · sv meter (unit of length) · el μέτρο (unit of length) · uz metr (unit of length) · ln metele (unit of length) · is metri (unit of length) · kk метр (unit of length) · ta மீட்டர் (unit of length) · de Meter (unit of length) · lt metras (unit of length) · tt метр (unit of length) · af meter (unit of length) · li maeter (unit of length) · et meeter (unit of length) · mn метр (unit of length) · tr metre (unit of length) · fi metri (unit of length) · vi thước (unit of length) · ja ㍍ (unit of length) · os метр (unit of length) · la metrum (unit of length) · nan-hbl 米達 /米达 (unit of length) · mk метар (unit of length) · no meter (unit of length) · yue 米 (unit of length) · vi thước tây (unit of length) · sq metër (unit of length) · ast metru (unit of length) · km ម៉ែត្រ (unit of length) · ka მეტრი (unit of length) · acw متر (unit of length) · eo metro (unit of length) · wa mete (unit of length) · mhn meter (unit of length) · no meter (unit of length) · tk metr (unit of length) · id meter (unit of length) · ms meter (unit of length) · hak 米打 (unit of length) · yo mítà (unit of length) · rsk метер (unit of length) · ar مِتْر (unit of length) · sah миэтэрэ (unit of length) · bg ме́тър (unit of length) · ady метр (unit of length) · cs metr (unit of length) · it metro (unit of length) · ro metru (unit of length) · ga méadar (unit of length) · mn ᠮᠧᠲ᠋ᠷ (unit of length) · ca metre (unit of length) · he מֶטֶר (unit of length)