Metre Meaning
/ˈmiːtə/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International d'Unités), equal to the distance travelled by light in a vacuum in 1/299 792 458 seconds. The metre is equal to 39+⁴⁷⁄₁₂₇ (approximately 39.37) imperial inches.
verbAlternative spelling of meter.
Sentence Examples
A metre is 100 centimetres.
The words above the door of the theatre were a metre high.
The cables are buried one metre below ground level.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The swimming pool is 25 ____ long, so swimmers race two lengths.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The Olympic swimmer came within just a few centimeters of breaking the world record for the 100-____ freestyle race.
Word Origin & History
From French mètre, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure, rule, length, size, poetic metre”). Doublet of meter, metron, and mether.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The measures of length above the metre are ten times ... greater than the metre."
— 1797, The Monthly magazine and British register, number 3:
"A dress length of 8 metres of the best quality costs 58 francs."
— 1873 April, The Young Englishwoman:
"The 12-metre yachts ... can be sailed efficiently with four paid hands."
— 1928 April 15, The Observer:
"It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black mustache and ruggedly handsome features."
— 1949 June 8, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC, Part I, Chapter I:
"It is not permissible to use abbreviations for unit symbols or unit names, such as sec (for either s or second), sq. mm (for either mm² or square millimetre), cc (for either cm³ or cubic centimetre), or mps (for either m/s or metre per second)."
— 2025 August 26, “The International System of Units (SI)”, in Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, archived from the original on 17 Sep 2025, page 147:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The swimming pool is 25 ____ long, so swimmers race two lengths.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The Olympic swimmer came within just a few centimeters of breaking the world record for the 100-____ freestyle race.