Definition

1. Noun:
   • A unit of length in the metric system: The metre is the fundamental unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. It is approximately equal to 1.094 yards.
   • The rhythmic pattern in poetry: In prosody, the metre of a poem is its basic rhythmic structure, determined by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables into repeated units called feet.
   • The basic rhythmic unit in music: In music, metre refers to the recurring pattern of beats, organized into measures or bars of equal time value.

Examples of Usage

• As a unit of length:
  • The room is five metres long.
  • She ran the 100-metre race in record time.
• In poetry:
  • The poem is written in iambic metre.
  • Analyzing the metre helps to understand the poem's rhythm.
• In music:
  • The song has a complex, shifting metre.
  • The conductor emphasized the strong downbeat of the metre.

Advanced Usage

• "In metre": Conforming to a specific poetic rhythm.
  • The sonnet is perfectly in metre.
• "Common metre": A specific poetic metre often used in hymns, consisting of alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter.
  • Many traditional hymns are written in common metre.

Variants and Related Words

• Metric (adj): Relating to the metre as a unit of measurement or to the metric system.
  • Most countries use the metric system.
• Metrical (adj): Relating to or composed in poetic metre; having a regular rhythm.
  • The text has a strong metrical pattern.
• Metronome (n): A device that marks time at a selected rate by giving a regular tick, used in music practice.
• Kilometre (n): A unit of length equal to one thousand metres.
• Centimetre (n): A unit of length equal to one hundredth of a metre.

Synonyms

• For unit of length: (None that are exact equivalents within the SI system, but historically) meter (US spelling).
• For poetic rhythm: Measure, cadence, beat.
• For musical rhythm: Time, measure, tempo (though tempo refers specifically to speed).

Related Phrases

• Square metre: A unit of area equal to that of a square with sides one metre long.
  • The apartment is 80 square metres.
• Cubic metre: A unit of volume equal to that of a cube with sides one metre long.
  • The container holds 10 cubic metres of sand.

Related Idioms

• (To be) out of metre: In poetry, to not conform to the established rhythmic pattern.
  • That line is out of metre and disrupts the flow of the verse.

Noun

1. rhythm as given by division into parts of equal duration
2. (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse
3. the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)