Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

metre

1 British  
/ ˈmiːtə /

noun

  1. a metric unit of length equal to approximately 1.094 yards

  2. the basic SI unit of length; the length of the path travelled by light in free space during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second. In 1983 this definition replaced the previous one based on krypton-86, which in turn had replaced the definition based on the platinum-iridium metre bar kept in Paris

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
metre 2 British  
/ ˈmiːtə /

noun

  1. prosody the rhythmic arrangement of syllables in verse, usually according to the number and kind of feet in a line

  2. music another word (esp US) for time

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of metre1

C18: from French; see metre ²

Origin of metre2

C14: from Latin metrum, from Greek metron measure

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Some monitors there recorded levels of PM2.5 -- particles small enough to enter the bloodstream and linked to diseases like cancer -- of over 900 micrograms per cubic metre.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Based on the amount of polystyrene particles in one square metre, David estimated that there were over 300,000 pieces lying across 70 square metres.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026

An article by Farmers' Daily reshared in state media CCTV's opinion section said in rural Hebei natural gas costs up to 3.4 yuan per cubic metre compared to 2.6 yuan in rural areas of Beijing.

From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026

"It's very sandy ground, access, 7,000 metre cubed of material in there approximately, but that's not when you've dug the hole - when you dig the hole and refill it, you could double that."

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026

The first of a batch of two hundred and fifty embryonic rocket-plane engineers was just passing the eleven hundred metre mark on Rack 3.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.