| 释义 |
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: -meter n combining form - indicating an instrument for measuring: barometer
- indicating a verse having a specified number of feet: pentameter
Etymology: from Greek metron measure me•ter1 /ˈmitɚ/USA pronunciation n. [countable]- Weights and Measuresa unit of length, equivalent to 39.37 U.S. inches;
now defined as 1&sfracdenom299,792,458&sfracend of the distance light travels in a vacuum in one second. Abbr.: m
See -meter-.me•ter2 /ˈmitɚ/USA pronunciation n. - Music and Dance
- [uncountable] the rhythmic element in music.
- [countable] the unit of measurement adopted for a given piece of music.
- Poetry[uncountable] the arrangement of words in poetic rhymes.
See -meter-.me•ter3 /ˈmitɚ/USA pronunciation n. [countable]- Weights and Measuresan instrument for measuring and recording the quantity of something, as of water, miles, or time:an electric meter.
- parking meter:a few more minutes left on the meter.
v. [~ + object] - to measure by means of a meter:The gas was metered.
- Stampsto process (mail) by means of a postage meter.
See -meter-.-meter-, root. - Weights and Measures -meter- comes from Greek, where it has the meaning "measure.'' This meaning is found in such words as: anemometer, barometer, centimeter, diameter, geometry, kilometer, meter, metric, metronome, odometer, parameter, pedometer, perimeter, symmetry.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024me•ter1 (mē′tər),USA pronunciation n. - Weights and Measuresthe fundamental unit of length in the metric system, equivalent to 39.37 U.S. inches, originally intended to be, and being very nearly, equal to one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the pole measured on a meridian: defined from 1889 to 1960 as the distance between two lines on a platinum-iridium bar (the "International Prototype Meter'') preserved at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris;
from 1960 to 1983 defined as 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red radiation of krypton 86 under specified conditions;
and now defined as 1⁄299,792,458 of the distance light travels in a vacuum in one second. Abbr.: m Also,[Brit.,] metre.
- Greek métron measure
- French mètre
- 1790–1800
- Music and Dance
- the rhythmic element as measured by division into parts of equal time value.
- the unit of measurement, in terms of number of beats, adopted for a given piece of music. Cf. measure (def. 14).
- [Pros.]
- poetic measure;
arrangement of words in regularly measured, patterned, or rhythmic lines or verses. - a particular form of such arrangement, depending on either the kind or the number of feet constituting the verse or both rhythmic kind and number of feet (usually used in combination):pentameter* dactylic meter;iambic trimeter.
Also,[Brit.,] metre. - Latin as above
- Middle French
- Greek métron measure; replacing Middle English metre
- Latin metrum poetic meter, verse
- Middle English metir, metur, Old English meter bef. 900
- Weights and Measuresan instrument for measuring, esp. one that automatically measures and records the quantity of something, as of gas, water, miles, or time, when it is activated.
- See parking meter.
v.t. - to measure by means of a meter.
- Stampsto process (mail) by means of a postage meter.
Also,[Brit.,] metre. -meter, - Weights and Measuresa combining form meaning "measure,'' used in the names of instruments measuring quantity, extent, degree, etc.:altimeter; barometer.Cf. -metry.
- Greek métron measure
- Neo-Latin -metrum
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