( BrE ) ( NAmE meter ) / ˈmiːtə(r); NAmE / noun
1.
[ C ] ( abbr. m ) a unit for measuring length; a hundred centimetres
2.
[ C , U ] ( abbr. m ) used in the name of races :
She came second in the 200 metres.
the 4×100 metre(s) relay
3.
[ U , C ] the arrangement of strong and weak stresses in lines of poetry that produces the rhythm; a particular example of this
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WORD ORIGIN
senses 1 to 2 late 18th cent.: from French mètre , from Greek metron measure.
sense 3 Old English , reinforced in Middle English by Old French metre , from Latin metrum , from Greek metron measure.