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• meta
  meta

  adjective

  pertaining to or noting a story, conversation, character, etc., that consciously references or comments upon its own subject or features, often in the form of parody.
• Meta
  Meta

  noun

  a female given name.
• meta-
  meta-

  a prefix appearing in loanwords from Greek, with the meanings “after,” “along with,” “beyond,” “among,” “behind,” and productive in English on the Greek model.

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Pop Culture dictionary results for meta.

meta

¹ American  

[met-uh] / ˈmɛt ə /

adjective

1. pertaining to or noting a story, conversation, character, etc., that consciously references or comments upon its own subject or features, often in the form of parody.

   A movie about making a movie is just so meta—especially when the actors criticize the acting.

2. pertaining to or noting an abstract, high-level analysis or commentary, especially one that consciously references something of its own type.

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noun

1. a consciously and playfully self-referential story, conversation, etc..

   That dialogue was an example of meta at its best.

2. an abstract, high-level analysis or commentary.

   writing a meta to explain the character’s motivation.

verb (used without object)

1. to analyze or comment on something in a meta way.

   I spend more time metaing about the show than actually watching it.

meta ² American  

[mee-tuh] / ˈmi tə /

noun

• metae
  plural

1. (in ancient Rome) a column or post, or a group of columns or posts, placed at each end of a racetrack to mark the turning places.

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meta ³ American  

[met-uh] / ˈmɛt ə /

adjective

Chemistry.

1. pertaining to or occupying two positions (1, 3) in the benzene ring that are separated by one carbon atom.

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meta ⁴ American  

[met-uh] / ˈmɛt ə /

noun

Slang.

1. a shortened form of metamour.

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Meta ⁵ American  

[mee-tuh] / ˈmi tə /

noun

1. a female given name.

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meta- ⁶ American  

1. a prefix appearing in loanwords from Greek, with the meanings “after,” “along with,” “beyond,” “among,” “behind,” and productive in English on the Greek model.

   metacarpus; metagenesis.

2. a prefix added to the name of a subject and designating another subject that analyzes the original one but at a more abstract, higher level.

   metaphilosophy; metalinguistics.

3. a prefix added to the name of something that consciously references or comments upon its own subject or features.

   a meta-painting of an artist painting a canvas.

4. Chemistry.

   1. (of acids, salts, or their organic derivatives) a prefix denoting the least hydrated of a series.

      meta-antimonic, HSbO3;

      meta-antimonous, HSbO2.

   2. a prefix designating the meta position in the benzene ring. m-.

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meta- ¹ British  

prefix

1. indicating change, alteration, or alternation

   metabolism

   metamorphosis

2. (of an academic discipline, esp philosophy) concerned with the concepts and results of the named discipline See also metatheory

   metamathematics

   meta-ethics

3. occurring or situated behind or after

   metaphase

4.  m-.  (often in italics) denoting that an organic compound contains a benzene ring with substituents in the 1,3-positions Compare ortho- para- 1

   metadinitrobenzene

   meta-cresol

5. denoting an isomer, polymer, or compound related to a specified compound (often differing from similar compounds that are prefixed by para- )

   metaldehyde

6. denoting an oxyacid that is a lower hydrated form of the anhydride or a salt of such an acid Compare ortho-

   metaphosphoric acid

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Meta ² British  

/ ˈmeɪtə, ˈmeta /

noun

1. a river in Colombia, rising in the Andes and flowing northeast and east, forming part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela, to join the Orinoco River. Length: about 1000 km (620 miles)

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Usage

What does else meta mean? Meta is when something refers back to or is about itself, like a book about books or a meme about memes.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• metae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of meta¹

First recorded in 2010–15; adjective and noun use of meta- ( def. )

Origin of meta²

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin mēta “cone, turning post”

Origin of meta³

First recorded in 1875–80; independent use of meta-

Origin of meta⁴

First recorded in 2010–15

Origin of meta-⁶

From Greek, prefix and preposition; cognate with Old English mid “with,” German mit, Gothic mith

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

meta Meta meta- metae

A podcast … about podcasts: It’s time to get a little meta.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

Or, at least that’s how I’d pitch a meta horror-thriller about watching Netflix’s abysmal new horror-thriller, “The Whisper Man,” a film so painfully, obviously bad that even talking about how terrible it is seems redundant.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026

The importance of parental support goes meta in Julia Hart’s “Don’t Say Good Luck.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Consider a meta review of past academic studies on the relationship between trading volume and stock prices.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

The whole thing is too meta for real me.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

In her small-by-C-suite-standards office on Microsoft’s corporate campus, the 38-year-old mother of three said that philosophy has guided her astonishingly rapid ascent through the leadership of companies like Meta Platforms and Instacart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

The idea follows reports of AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta breaking out of testing environments and going on uncontrollable hacking sprees.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Last month, Meta agreed to an $18 billion settlement that ended a trial over social media’s impact on teenagers and required the company to make several changes to how minors interact with its platforms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

A Latin American fact-checking network on Thursday asked Meta not to replace the verification practice with Community Notes after the company said it was testing the crowdsourcing system in the region.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

“Please, have you seen my Meta? She’s only five years old.”

From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys

As an attempt to actually show both the necessity and difficulty of recovery, in a micro- and meta- sense, “The Bear” is an experiment that defies comparison.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2025

There’s a sort of meta- reading here, with Fey stepping in to pass the torch from Liz to Dawn.

From Slate ● May 17, 2021

Metamorphic rocks, meta- meaning change and –morphos meaning form, is one of the three rock categories in the rock cycle.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

Experimental primary tumours may suppress outgrowth of micrometastases by preventing the induction of angiogenesis or by imposing DCC dormancy through secretion of meta- and ortho-tyrosine.

From Nature ● Sep. 18, 2013

We have only to consider the new meta- and hyper-compounds of the highest sphere within the funnel, and the two triplets and one quintet from the connecting rod.

From Occult Chemistry Clairvoyant Observations on the Chemical Elements by A. P. Sinnett

It is now and then stated that the metae between strips have been plowed up.

From The Enclosures in England An Economic Reconstruction by Harriett Bradley