mete 1 [ meet ] SHOW IPA
/ mit / PHONETIC RESPELLING
verb (used with object), met·ed, met·ing.
to distribute or apportion by measure; allot; dole (usually followed by out ): to mete out punishment.
Archaic . to measure.
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Origin of mete 1 before 900; Middle English; Old English metan; cognate with Dutch meten, Old Norse meta, Gothic mitan, German messen to measure, Greek mḗdesthai to ponder
OTHER WORDS FROM mete un·met·ed, adjective
Other definitions for mete (2 of 3)
mete 2
[ meet ] SHOW IPA
/ mit / PHONETIC RESPELLING
noun
a limiting mark.
a limit or boundary.
Origin of mete 2 1275–1325; Middle English <Middle French <Latin mēta goal, turning post
Other definitions for mete (3 of 3)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
Words related to mete deal ,
divide ,
dole ,
give ,
lot ,
measure ,
parcel ,
portion ,
ration ,
share ,
admeasure ,
allocate ,
allot ,
allow ,
apportion ,
assign ,
dispense
How to use mete in a sentence The most severe punishment, loss of vacation days, was mete d out to nine officers.
He was obsessive about lifting weights, according to former Maine Coach Jack Cosgrove, and as his body grew into its eventual 311-pound frame, so did his confidence to mete out punishment.
Their execution, “was the swiftest punishment ever mete d out under the Lindbergh Law,” one news article said, referring to the federal kidnapping statute passed by Congress after the historic Lindbergh kidnapping.
A trailer for the film posted a few months later shows Profitt starring as Detective John Davis, who resigns from his department to mete out justice on his own terms.
In my family, I felt anyway, like love was somewhat proportionately mete d out according to your accomplishments.
The unfortunate reality is that race, gender, and economic status do matter when justice is mete d out.
Will they escape the harsh punishment mete d out to the Pharrell Williams ‘Happy’ dancers?
It is not a scarce commodity to be mete d out begrudgingly or in short portions.
Draconian punishments were mete d out to supposed sinners and traitors.
But in this case the system was exact and precise in the punishment mete d out—he deserves every one of those 1,000 years.
He had mete d out stern justice to his own son, when he had banished big Reginald to South America; but he had his virtues.
He had apparently forgotten the terrible role he had accepted and the doom he had mete d out to her enemies.
A much milder punishment was mete d out to the Comtesse de Soissons.
More tragic even was the punishment mete d out to the Jewish informers who betrayed their people to the enemy.
Another bloody tyrant was dead, by the violence which he had mete d out to so many others, and they were glad.
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British Dictionary definitions for mete (1 of 2)
verb (tr)
(usually foll by out) formal to distribute or allot (something, often unpleasant)
verb , noun
poetic , dialect (to) measure
Word Origin for mete Old English metan; compare Old Saxon metan, Old Norse meta, German messen to measure
British Dictionary definitions for mete (2 of 2)
noun
rare a mark, limit, or boundary (esp in the phrase metes and bounds )
Word Origin for mete C15: from Old French, from Latin mēta goal, turning post (in race)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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