2 syllables: Me, ter. Stress on Me.
MEE-tur
/ˈmitɚ/
Meter is pronounced MEE-tur (/ˈmitɚ/). It has two syllables (Me-ter), with the stress on "Me". Meter is a unit of measurement and a device that measures like distance or flow, as well as a rhythmic pattern in poetry or music. In everyday use it denotes the instrument or standard for gauging quantity, time, or intensity, and can refer to the rhythm scheme of a poem or song. It commonly appears in technical, poetic, and literary contexts.
nounMeter is a unit of measurement and a device that measures like distance or flow, as well as a rhythmic pattern in poetry or music. In everyday use it denotes the instrument or standard for gauging quantity, time, or intensity, and can refer to the rhythm scheme of a poem or song. It commonly appears in technical, poetic, and literary contexts.
How to Pronounce Meter
"The contractor installed a copper meter to track water usage."
"In poetry, the meter establishes the beat and cadence of a line."
"The gas meter needs to be read every month for accurate billing."
Pronounce as /ˈmiːtər/ in US English, with primary stress on the first syllable. In non-rhotic accents, the final /r/ may be weakened or dropped, giving /ˈmiːtə/ or a >>> rhotic vowel during fading. Start with a long steady /iː/ glide, then a quick /t/ closure, and a schwa-like /ə/ in some dialects. Listen to native pronunciations to gauge which ending you hear in your region.
Common mistakes include turning the first syllable into a short /ɪ/ (like ‘met-ur’ instead of /ˈmiː/), or misplacing the stress (making it /miˈter/). Another error is over-articulating the final /r/ in non-rhotic varieties. To fix: keep the first syllable tense and long /iː/, drop the /r/ or reduce it in non-rhotic speech, and ensure a clean /t/ release before the final schwa or /ə/ depending on dialect.
In US English, /ˈmiːtər/ with pronounced final /r/. In UK English, /ˈmiːtə/ or /ˈmiːtəɹ/ with a weaker or non-rhotic /r/ and a shorter final vowel. Australian English resembles UK but with slightly broader vowel for /iː/ and a softer /t/; final /r/ is often not pronounced in careful speech, sometimes becoming /ˈmiːtə/. Sound differences mainly involve rhoticity and vowel length, not core consonant order.
The difficulty often lies in balancing the long front vowel /iː/ with the /t/ closure and the trailing schwa or rhotic /ɹ/ after it. Non-rhotic speakers reduce the /r/ sound, which can make the ending sound like /tə/ rather than /tər/. Also, subtle vowel duration differences and the crisp /t/ release require precise tongue tip placement. Practice by isolating the /iː/ + /t/ blend and then attaching a relaxed /ə/ or a light /əɹ/ depending on dialect.
Meter is typically stressed on the first syllable: /ˈmiːtər/. The second syllable is unstressed, tending toward a schwa-like or reduced vowel in many accents. In careful speech or poetic discussion, the second syllable can be lightly articulated as /tə/ or /ər/ depending on rhoticity. The key is keeping the primary stress on the first syllable while allowing the second to fall naturally without emphasis.
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Meter comes from the Old French metre, from Latin mensurāre, meaning to measure. The word entered English in the 14th century via Old North French, initially referring to a standard of measure or the measurement itself. Its mathematical sense emerged from the Greek metron (measure) via Latin mensura. In poetry, meter began in the 16th–17th centuries as printers and poets codified patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables, shaping lines into regular rhythms. The device sense evolved to describe devices for measuring quantities (water, gas, electricity) as technologies advanced. The connotative range broadened to include metrical foot concepts in prosody and later to figurative uses like “meter of a cadence.” The term now spans both scientific instrumentation and literary/rhythmic structure, with first documentation of the measuring device and the poetic meter both appearing by the 1700s in English texts. Across centuries, “meter” has remained a bridge word between measurement and rhythm, adapting to new measuring traditions and metrical theories.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Meter" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Meter" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Meter"
-ter sounds
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