metre

• meter

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmiːtə/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmiːtəɹ/, [ˈmiːɾɚ]

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -iːtə(r)

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

metre (plural metres)

1. 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.
   • 1797, The Monthly magazine and British register, No. 3

     The measures of length above the metre are ten times ... greater than the metre.

   • 1873, The Young Englishwoman, April

     A dress length of 8 metres of the best quality costs 58 francs.

   • 1928, The Observer, April 15

     The 12-metre yachts ... can be sailed efficiently with four paid hands.

• This, rather than meter, is the spelling adopted by both the International Bureau of Weights and Measures and the International Organization for Standardization in their English language texts. However the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, in accordance with the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual, has chosen to use meter.

• m

• Appendix on SI Units

“metre” in the Collins English Dictionary, Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers.

• SI prefixes
• International Bureau of Weights and Measures

metre (third-person singular simple present metres, present participle metring, simple past and past participle metred)

1. (Britain, rare) Alternative spelling of meter

The standard spelling of the verb meaning to measure is meter throughout the English-speaking world. The use of the spelling metre for this sense (outside music and poetry) is possibly a misspelling.

From Old English, from Latin metrum, from Ancient Greek See #Etymology 1

metre (plural metres) (Britain, Canada)

1. The rhythm or measure in verse and musical composition.

metre (third-person singular simple present metres, present participle metring, simple past and past participle metred)

1. (poetry, music) To put into metrical form.

• metronome
• metric
• Wikipedia article: metre (poetry)

• -meter, -treme, Emert, meter, remet, retem

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /ˈmə.tɾə/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.tɾə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈme.tɾe/

Borrowed from French mètre.

metre m (plural metres)

1. metre, meter (unit of measure, 100 cm)

From Old Occitan metre, from Latin mittere, present active infinitive of mittō. Compare Occitan metre, French mettre, Spanish meter.

metre (first-person singular present meto, past participle mes)

1. to put, to place
2. to set

• posar

• cometre
• missatge
• missió
• prometre

From Latin mittere, present active infinitive of mittō.

metre

1. to put, to place

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has irregularities in its conjugation. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

• French: mettre
• Norman: maette, mettre

Borrowed from French mètre.

• IPA^(key): /mɛtɾɛ/

• Audio

  (file)

metre (definite accusative metreyi, plural metreler)

1. metre, meter (unit of measure, 100 cm)
2. rule, folding rule