meta

1 of 2

adjective

ˈme-tə 

1

informal : showing or suggesting an explicit awareness of itself or oneself as a member of its category : cleverly self-referential

"The Bar?" she said. "I know the place. Been meaning to drop by. Love the name. Very meta."

—Gillian Flynn

The meta gift of the year: a picture of a lamp that actually lights up. Designer Finn Magee's trompe l'oeil is printed on plastic, embedded with electronics, and equipped with a cord and switch.

—Karissa Bell et al.

A new comedy about fantasy football, which follows a group of armchair quarterbacks as they try to tackle life. How meta would it be if people started betting on what was going to happen on the show?

—TV Guide

Leave it to Larry to contort public desire for a Seinfeld reunion into a meta plot that chronicles his not-necessarily-noble struggle to pull off a Seinfeld reunion.

—Dan Snierson

2

informal : concerning or providing information about members of its own category

… Slate, a Web zine published by Microsoft that devotes much of its content to what [editor Michael] Kinsley calls "meta news"—news about the news.

—Rick Marin et al.

Given that the coverage of any one search engine is limited, the simplest means of improving the coverage of Web search engines is to combine the results of multiple engines, as is done with meta search engines such as MetaCrawler (www.metacrawler.com).

—Steve Lawrence

meta-

2 of 2

prefix

variants or met-

1

a

: occurring later than or in succession to : after

metestrus

b

: situated behind or beyond

metencephalon

metacarpus

c

: later or more highly organized or specialized form of

metaxylem

2

: change : transformation

metaplasia

3

[metaphysics] : more comprehensive : transcending

metapsychological

—usually used with the name of a discipline to designate a new but related discipline designed to deal critically with the original one

metaethics

4

a

: involving substitution at or characterized by two positions in the benzene ring that are separated by one carbon atom

meta-xylene

b

: derived from by loss of water

metaphosphoric acid

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Examples of meta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Yet there’s something disarming about how Riley’s sense of play holds this street-smart meta-rebellion fantasy together. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 13 Mar. 2026

That was an interesting meta moment, to not just be part of the wedding but to really be sympathizing with the wedding planner. —Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026

The hundreds of millions of people who follow her are aware of this disconnect and embrace the contrived aspect of her persona in a way that’s more meta than classic Hollywood hero worship. —Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 11 Mar. 2026

In addition to starring (human) roles in family fare like The Smurfs (2011) and its sequel, the New Mexico native went very dark for David Fincher’s Gone Girl (2014) and very meta for The Matrix Resurrections (2021), as Neo’s therapist. —Kelly Martinez, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

independent use of meta-

Prefix

New Latin & Medieval Latin, from Latin or Greek; Latin, from Greek, among, with, after, from meta among, with, after; akin to Old English mid, mith with, Old High German mit

First Known Use

Adjective

1988, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing meta

• meta-analysis

Rhymes for meta

• cheetah
• mita
• pieta
• pita
• rita
• vitta
• advaita
• amanita
• cucurbita
• emerita
• incognita
• manzanita

Medical Definition

meta

1 of 2 adjective

ˈmet-ə 

: relating to, characterized by, or being two positions in the benzene ring that are separated by one carbon atom

meta-

2 of 2 prefix

variants or met-

1

: isomeric with or otherwise closely related to

metaldehyde

2

: involving substitution at or characterized by two positions in the benzene ring that are separated by one carbon atom

—abbreviation m-

meta-xylene or m-xylene

compare orth- sense 2, para- sense 2

Geographical Definition

Meta

geographical name

Me·​ta ˈmā-tä 

river over 620 miles (995 kilometers) long in northeastern Colombia flowing into the Orinoco River on the Venezuela–Colombia boundary