Meanings
metre1
plural metres · alternative meter
- 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.
Holonyms: kilometre < megametre < gigametre < terametre < petametre
5 more examples
Meronyms: picometre < nanometre < micrometre < millimetre < centimetre < decimetre
The measures of length above the metre are ten times ... greater than the metre.
1797, The Monthly magazine and British register, number 3A dress length of 8 metres of the best quality costs 58 francs.
1873 April, The Young EnglishwomanThe 12-metre yachts ... can be sailed efficiently with four paid hands.
1928 April 15, The ObserverIt 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 ISynonyms: m
present singular third person metres · participle present metring · participle past metred · past metred · alternative meter
- UKalternativerareAlternative spelling of meter.
metre2
plural metres · alternative meter
- Rhythm or measure.
- CanadaUKcountableuncountableThe rhythm or measure in musical composition.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe 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.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
noun(prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
metre · noun, verb
- Ancient Greekμέτρον“measure, rule, length, size, poetic metre”
- Frenchmètre
- Englishmetre
From French mètre, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure, rule, length, size, poetic metre”). Doublet of meter, metron, and mether.
More words from French, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →metre · noun, verb
- Ancient Greekμέτρον“measure, rule, length, size, poetic metre”
- Latinmetrum
- Englishmetre
From Old English, from Latin metrum, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure, rule, length, size, poetic metre”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans meter
- meterunit of length
Arabic مِتْر
- مِتْر (mitr)unit of length
Bengali মিটার
- মিটার (miṭar)unit of length
Bulgarian ме́тър
- ме́тър (métăr)unit of length
Catalan metre, metre
- metreunit of length
- metrerhythm or measure in verse and musical composition
- mètricarhythm or measure in verse and musical composition
Chinese Cantonese 米, 公尺
- 米unit of length
- 公尺 (gung¹ cek³)unit of length
Chinese Mandarin 米, 公尺
- 米 (mǐ)unit of length
- 公尺 (gōngchǐ)unit of length
- 米突 (mǐtū, mǐtú)unit of length
Czech metr
- metrunit of length
Danish meter
- meterunit of length
Dutch meter
- meterunit of length
Esperanto metro, metro
- metrounit of length
- metrorhythm or measure in verse and musical composition
Estonian meeter
- meeterunit of length
Finnish metri
- metriunit of length
French mètre
- mètreunit of length
German Meter, Metrum
- Meterunit of length
- Metrumrhythm or measure in verse and musical composition
- Versmaßrhythm or measure in verse and musical composition
Greek μέτρο
- μέτρο (métro)unit of length
Hawaiian mīka
- mīkaunit of length
Hebrew מֶטֶר
- מֶטֶר (méter)unit of length
Hindi मीटर, छंद
- मीटर (mīṭar)unit of length
- छंद (chand)rhythm or measure in verse and musical composition
Hungarian méter, versmérték
- méterunit of length
- versmértékrhythm or measure in verse and musical composition
- metrumrhythm or measure in verse and musical composition
- ütemrhythm or measure in verse and musical composition
Icelandic metri
- metriunit of length
Indonesian meter
- meterunit of length
Irish méadar
- méadarunit of length
Italian metro
- metrounit of length
Japanese メートル, ㍍
- メートル (mētoru)unit of length
- ㍍ (mētoru)unit of length
Korean 미터, 메터
- 미터 (miteo)unit of length
- 메터 (meteo)unit of length
Latin metrum
- metrumunit of length
Latvian metrs
- metrsunit of length
Lithuanian metras
- metrasunit of length
Malay meter
- meterunit of length
Māori mita
- mitaunit of length
Norwegian Bokmål meter
- meterunit of length
Norwegian Nynorsk meter
- meterunit of length
Polish metr, metrum
- metrunit of length
- metrumrhythm or measure in verse and musical composition
Portuguese metro
- metrounit of length
Romanian metru
- metruunit of length
Russian метр
- метр (metr)unit of length
Slovak meter
- meterunit of length
Spanish metro
- metrounit of length
Swahili mita
- mitaunit of length
Swedish meter
- meterunit of length
Tagalog metro, panukat
- metrounit of length
- panukatunit of length
Tamil மீட்டர்
- மீட்டர் (mīṭṭar)unit of length
Thai เมตร
- เมตร (méet)unit of length
Turkish metre
- metreunit of length
Ukrainian метр
- метр (metr)unit of length
Urdu میٹر
- میٹر (mīṭar)unit of length
Vietnamese mét, thước
- métunit of length
- thướcunit of length
- thước tâyunit of length
Yiddish מעטער
- מעטער (meter)unit of length
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with metre
Anagrams
Cite this entry
metre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metre
“metre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metre. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “metre,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metre.
Source: metre on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.