pentameter

American  

[pen-tam-i-ter] / pɛnˈtæm ɪ tər /

noun

1. a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet.

2. Also called elegiac pentameter.  Classical Prosody. a verse consisting of two dactyls, one long syllable, two more dactyls, and another long syllable.

3. unrhymed verse of five iambic feet; heroic verse.

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adjective

1. consisting of five metrical feet.

pentameter British  

/ pɛnˈtæmɪtə /

noun

1. a verse line consisting of five metrical feet

2. (in classical prosody) a verse line consisting of two dactyls, one stressed syllable, two dactyls, and a final stressed syllable

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adjective

1. designating a verse line consisting of five metrical feet

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pentametrist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of pentameter

1540–50; < Latin pentametrus < Greek pentámetros. See penta-, meter ²

Explanation

The most common way to structure a line of English poetry is to use pentameter, which is made up of five metrical feet. Forsooth, Shakespeare wrote much of his work using pentameter. Whenever a line of poetry contains five units of verse — combinations of stressed and unstressed syllables, also called feet — that's an example of pentameter. The most familiar version of this type of line is iambic pentameter, which uses five iambs, or groups of two syllables in which the second is stressed. These lines from Shakespeare are good examples of iambic pentameter: "That time of year thou mayst in me behold/When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang." Pentameter comes from a Greek root meaning "having five measures."

Example Sentences

Other decisions are matters of policy: Should a translator preserve Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter?

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

"This is the biggest mountain because I was always worried about the iambic pentameter, about blank verse, and not being trained as an actor," he says.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2024

But LLMs have also managed to ace the bar exam, explain the Higgs boson in iambic pentameter, and make an attempt to break up their users’ marriage.

From Scientific American • May 11, 2023

Much of the initial script’s Elizabethan iambic pentameter has been trimmed, while keeping the songs intact and leaving room for spontaneous actor-audience interactions.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2021

North of Copenhagen is the city of Elsinore, home to the castle where Hamlet takes place, with its wandering ghosts, ill-advised eavesdropping behind the drapes, conversations with skulls, and deadly duels in iambic pentameter.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood