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PlainSpell

meter

me·ter[ˈmiɾɚ]noun, verb

meter is spelled M-E-T-E-R: 5 letters and 2 syllables (me·ter). It appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “meter vs metre” about 260 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, meter means “A device that measures things” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of meter is meters or μmeters.

How many letters and syllables are in meter?

Letters5: M-E-T-E-R
Syllables2: me·ter
In writing12 times per million words; the 6,138th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is meter?

Meter appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce meter?

  • /ˈmitəɹ/
  • US [ˈmiɾɚ]
  • UK /ˈmiːtə/

Meter has 2 syllables, split me·ter in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-meter.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-meter.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl--meter.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with meter

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

meter vs metre260 G

Also written: metre.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with meter?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as meter from its last stressed vowel (/itə/, British pronunciation):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: metre, terem.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of meter

  • meters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • metering participle, present
  • metered participle, past
  • μmeters plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does meter mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A device that measures things.

  2. 2

    A parking meter or similar device for collecting payment.

    gas meter

  3. 3

    datedOne who metes or measures.

    a labouring coal-meter

  4. 4

    USA line above or below a hanging net, to which the net is attached in order to strengthen it.

  5. 5

    USUS standard spelling of metre (“a unit of measure”).

  6. 6

    USUS standard spelling of metre (“the rhythm or measure”).

  7. 7

    obsoleteA poem.

verb

  1. 1

    To measure with a metering device.

  2. 2

    To imprint a postage mark with a postage meter.

  3. 3

    To regulate the flow of or to deliver in regulated amounts (usually of fluids but sometimes of other things such as anticipation or breath).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate meter?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of meter: m.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Meter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchmètre, compteur (measuring instrument), -mètre (used to form a measuring device)
GermanMessgerät (measuring instrument), -meter (used to form a measuring device), Metrum (increment of music), Versmaß, Silbenmaß (rhythm of poetry)
Portuguesecontador (measuring instrument), -metro (used to form a measuring device)
Spanishmedidor, contador, metro (measuring instrument), -metro (used to form a measuring device), métrica (rhythm of poetry)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does meter come from?

From Middle English metere (“one who measures, measurer”), perhaps (with change in suffix) from Old English metend (“one who measures or metes”), equivalent to mete (“to measure”) + -er. The transference from "person who measures" to "device that measures" was probably assisted by association with -meter, as in barometer, etc.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after meter