metre
me·tre/ˈmiːtəɹ/noun, verb
metre is spelled M-E-T-R-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables (me·tre). It appears 5.8 times per million words in written English, the 10,196th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “meter vs metre” about 260 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, metre means “The basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International d'Unités), equal to the distance travelled by light in a…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of metre is metres.
How many letters and syllables are in metre?
| Letters | 5: M-E-T-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: me·tre |
| In writing | 5.8 times per million words; the 10,196th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none 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 metre?
Metre appears 5.8 times per million words in written English, the 10,196th 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 metre?
- UK /ˈmiːtə/
- US /ˈmiːtəɹ/
- US [ˈmiːɾɚ]
Metre has 2 syllables, split me·tre in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-metre.ogg, En-us-metre.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with metre
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: meter.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with metre?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as metre from its last stressed vowel (/itəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: meter, 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 metre
- metres plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- meter
- metring participle, present
- metred participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does metre mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The 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.
Holonyms: kilometre < megametre < gigametre < terametre < petametre
- 2
CanadaUKThe rhythm or measure in language (especially verse).
- 3
CanadaUKThe rhythm or measure in musical composition.
verb
- 1
To put into metrical form.
- 2
UKrareAlternative spelling of meter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate metre?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of metre: met., mt..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Metre in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 metre come from?
From French mètre, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure, rule, length, size, poetic metre”). Doublet of meter, metron, and mether.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).