mete

/miːt/

//miːt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mete" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mete” is uncommon English (frequency #58,845 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,845
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To dispense, measure in order to dispense, allot (especially punishment, reward etc.).

Corpus desk

Index EN-mete · mete · English

mete · rank #58,845 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,845
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH merman

Nearest frequency peer: merman (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “mete”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “mete” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mete
PropertyValue
Headwordmete
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/miːt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#58,845
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mete” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).metefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “merman” (#58,844), “Meuse” (#58,846), “Meriden” (#58,843). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mete” is #58,845. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mete is uncommon English at frequency #58,845 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /miːt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To dispense, measure in order to dispense, allot (especially punishment, reward etc.).".

No generated misspelling entries exist for mete in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English meten, from Old English metan (“to measure, mete out, mark off, compare, estimate; pass over, traverse”), from Proto-West Germanic *metan, from Proto-Germanic *metaną (“to measure”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure, consider”… The correct English form is mete, spelled M-E-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To dispense, measure in order to dispense, allot (especially punishment, reward etc.).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how mete appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Match'd with an agèd wife, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race
  2. Every generation metes out substantially the same punishment to those who fall far below and those who rise high above its standards.

Etymology

From Middle English meten, from Old English metan (“to measure, mete out, mark off, compare, estimate; pass over, traverse”), from Proto-West Germanic *metan, from Proto-Germanic *metaną (“to measure”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure, consider”). Cognate with Scots mete (“to measure”), Saterland Frisian meete (“to measure”), West Frisian mjitte (“to measure”), Dutch meten (“to measure”), German messen (“to measure”), Swedish mäta (“to measure”), Latin modus (“limit, measure, target”), Ancient Greek μεδίμνος (medímnos, “measure, bushel”), Ancient Greek μέδεσθαι (médesthai, “care for”), Old Armenian միտ (mit, “mind”).

This word in other languages

medir(Español)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mete"?
"mete" is spelled M-E-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /miːt/.
What does "mete" mean?
As a verb, "mete" means: To dispense, measure in order to dispense, allot (especially punishment, reward etc.).
How do you pronounce "mete"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mete" is /miːt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mete"?
From Middle English meten, from Old English metan (“to measure, mete out, mark off, compare, estimate; pass over, traverse”), from Proto-West Germanic *metan, from Proto-Germanic *metaną (“to measure”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure,... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mete", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

MOOC#58,866lier#58,810nett#58,881nisi#58,886

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list