measure

noun mea·sure \ ˈme-zhər , ˈmā- \

Updated on: 22 May 2018

Definition of measure

1 a (1) : an adequate or due portion

all too few of the British actresses … have received their measure of remembrance
—Saturday Review

(2) : a moderate degree; also : moderation, temperance

(3) : a fixed or suitable limit : bounds

rich beyond measure

b : the dimensions, capacity, or amount of something ascertained by measuring

took his measure for a coat

c : an estimate of what is to be expected (as of a person or situation)

the measure of their tragedy is now beyond our imagination
—G. F. Kennan

d (1) : a measured quantity

(2) : amount, degree

giving children a greater measure of freedom

2 a : an instrument (such as a yardstick) or utensil (such as a graduated cup) for measuring

b (1) : a standard or unit of measurement — see Weights and Measures Table

(2) : a system of standard units of measure

metric measure

3 : the act or process of measuring

settled by a measure made by a surveyor

4 a (1) : melody, tune

(2) : dance; especially : a slow and stately dance

b : rhythmic structure or movement : cadence: such as

(1) : poetic rhythm measured by temporal (see ¹temporal 3) quantity or accent; specifically : meter

(2) : musical time

c (1) : a grouping of a specified number of musical beats located between two consecutive vertical lines on a staff

(2) : a metrical unit : foot

5 : an exact divisor of a number

6 being the greatest common measure of 42 and 12

6 : a basis or standard of comparison

wealth is not a measure of happiness

7 : a step planned or taken as a means to an end

took strong measures against the rebels

; specifically : a proposed legislative act

sponsored an anti-inflation measure in the senate

— for good measure

: in addition to the minimum required : as an extra

added another illustration for good measure

See measure defined for English-language learners

See measure defined for kids

Examples of measure in a Sentence

She felt equal measures of hope and fear.
Their actions were motivated in large measure by a desire for revenge.
An occasion like this calls for some measure of decorum.
The meter is a measure of length.
The dictionary includes a table of weights and measures.
The legislature has passed a measure aimed at protecting consumers.
The governor has proposed a number of cost-cutting measures.
They were forced to resort to desperate measures.
We need to take measures to protect ourselves.

Recent Examples of measure from the Web

For good measure, Burroughs later recounted for readers the exploits of Carson Napier on an equally-teeming planet Venus.

— steve donoghue, The Christian Science Monitor, "3 books about planets," 18 May 2018
And so on, only with a lot more Chandler quotes thrown in for good measure.

— refinery29.com, "This Friends Theory About Ross & Monica Is Breaking The Internet," 16 May 2018
In addition, none of his old TV shows is being telecast anymore, and even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has given him the bum’s rush, simultaneously expelling Roman Polanski for good measure.

— terry teachout, WSJ, "Portrait of the Artist as an Unperson," 16 May 2018
This event has something for everyone, from flowers to tractors, antiques to animals, architecture to acreage with even a bit of archeology tossed in for good measure.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Enfield Edition," 15 May 2018
One of the leaders in bundling services with cloud storage has been Microsoft, whose cheapest Office 365 subscription (Office 365 Personal, at $6.99/mo) pushes the Office 365 app suite, with a terabyte of OneDrive storage tacked on for good measure.

— mark hachman, PCWorld, "The new Google One storage subscription wants to pamper paid users with services and deals," 14 May 2018
Morris also got the better of the matchup on offense, scoring 21 points—and outrebounding LeBron for good measure as well.

— rohan nadkarni, SI.com, "Celtics' Defense Exposes Cavs' Flaws in Eastern Conference Finals Rematch," 13 May 2018
But in January, the chairman of the SEC, who had clearly seen enough, basically put all ICOs on ice—and chewed out the lawyers for good measure.

— jeff john roberts, Fortune, "The Sucker at the Token Table: Who Loses in the ICO Bust," 12 May 2018
And unlike the other Black Hood next door, Hal stays down — because Alice gives him a second whack for good measure.

— jessica macleish, Teen Vogue, ""Riverdale" Recap Season 2 Episode 21: Some People Just Want to Watch Riverdale Burn," 10 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'measure.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of measure

Middle English mesure, from Anglo-French, from Latin mensura, from mensus, past participle of metiri to measure; akin to Old English mǣth measure, Greek metron

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

See Words from the same year

measure Synonyms

Synonyms

expedient, means, move, shift, step;

Related Words

act, action, deed, doing, feat, thing;

course, procedure, proceeding, process;

activity, affair, business, dealing, enterprise, event;

attempt, crack, endeavor, essay, fling, go, initiative, operation, pass, shot, stab, trial, try, undertaking, whack;

effort, exertion, labor, pains, trouble, while, work;

project, proposal, proposition;

makeshift, resort, resource, stopgap;

countermeasure, countermove, counterstep;

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

abscissa, denominator, divisor, equilateral, exponent, hypotenuse, logarithm, oblique, radii, rhomb

measure

verb

Definition of measure

measured; measuring play \ˈme-zhə-riŋ, ˈmā-; ˈmezh-riŋ, ˈmāzh-\

transitive verb

1 a : to choose or control with cautious restraint : regulate

measure his acts

b : to regulate by a standard : govern

2 : to allot or apportion in measured amounts

measure out three cups

3 : to lay off by making measurements

4 : to ascertain the measurements of

5 : to estimate or appraise by a criterion

measures his skill against his rival

6 archaic : to travel over : traverse

7 : to serve as a means of measuring

a thermometer measures temperature

intransitive verb

1 : to take or make a measurement

2 : to have a specified measurement

—

measurability

play \ˌme-zhə-rə-ˈbi-lə-tē, ˌmā-; ˌmezh-rə-, ˌmāzh-\ noun

—

measurable

play \ˈme-zhə-rə-bəl, ˈmā-; ˈmezh-rə-, ˈmāzh-\ adjective

—

measurably

play \-blē\ adverb

—

measurer

play \-zhər-ər\ noun

See measure defined for English-language learners

Examples of measure in a Sentence

using a ruler to measure a piece of paper
an instrument for measuring air pressure
mental abilities measured by IQ testing
He's being measured for a new suit.
His success cannot be measured solely on the basis of his popularity.
The cloth measures 3 meters.
The room measures 15 feet wide by 30 feet long.

Recent Examples of measure from the Web

Overnight the world’s richest country (measured by income per head at purchasing-power parity) was cut off from its food supplies.

— The Economist, "Why Qatar is raising cows in the desert," 17 May 2018
Genetic diversity for Santa Ana mountain lions is already lower than has been measured anywhere else in the West and the Santa Monicas’ population is not far behind.

— joseph serna, www.latimes.com, "Mountain lions are being killed on freeways and weakened by inbreeding. Researchers have a solution," 16 May 2018
City planner McDonald said the ordinance has been drafted to measure the quarter-mile distance as a direct line from the center point of the station platform to the edge of the property.

— tony bizjak, sacbee, "Gas stations and pot businesses not welcome, Sacramento says. Here's where and why | The Sacramento Bee," 13 May 2018
That was the case in the United Arab Emirates, where the head of state Sheikh Mohammed launched the Gender Balance Council in 2015, aiming to make the UAE a top 25 country for gender parity by 2021, as measured by the UN’s Gender Inequality Index.

— peter vanham, The New Republic, "Why Do-Gooders Love Development Statistics," 11 May 2018
Without a private cultural space of our own, any representation of our lives can be stripped of its context, to be used and reproduced and measured by standards not of our own making.

— michael charles collett, Teen Vogue, "Donald Glover's "This Is America" Doesn't Exist in a Vacuum — But Black Art Never Has," 9 May 2018
But in 1998 through 2000, Orange had 26 days a year on average of unhealthy ozone smog as measured by current federal standards.

— kevin spear, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Lake County has least healthy air in Central Florida, American Lung Association says," 8 May 2018
While the fry may have been a little soft, the wings were sizable and the flavors were well-measured. $8.99 per order.

— adam lukach, RedEye Chicago, "10 of our favorite chicken wing spots in Chicago," 30 Apr. 2018
The kids are going to need checkups before school starts—and gnawing that’s more easily measured in wrinkles than in hours.

— sandy fernández, Redbook, "How to Take Care of Yourself — and Everyone Else," 11 Apr. 2018

Origin and Etymology of measure

see ¹measure

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

measure Synonyms

MEASURE Defined for English Language Learners

measure

noun

Definition of measure for English Language Learners

: an amount or degree of something
: something (such as a cup or a ruler) that is used to measure things
: a unit used in measuring something

measure

verb

Definition of measure for English Language Learners

: to find out the size, length, or amount of (something)
: to find out the size of (someone) for clothing
: to judge the importance, value, or extent of (something)

MEASURE Defined for Kids

measure

noun mea·sure \ ˈme-zhər \

Definition of measure for Students

1 : extent 2, degree, amount

Our plan did succeed in large measure.

2 : the size, capacity, or quantity of something that has been determined

Use equal measures of flour and milk.

3 : something (as a yardstick or cup) used in determining size, capacity, or quantity

4 : a unit used in determining size, capacity, or quantity

An inch is a measure of length.

5 : a system of determining size, capacity, or quantity

liquid measure

6 : the notes and rests between bar lines on a musical staff

7 : a way of accomplishing something

a safety measure

The new law is a measure to save energy.

— for good measure

: as something added or extra

We gave the wall another coat of paint for good measure.

measure

verb

Definition of measure for Students

measured; measuring

1 : to find out the size, extent, or amount of

You should measure the cloth before cutting.

2 : to separate out a fixed amount

She measured the rice.

3 : ¹estimate

I had to measure the distance with my eye.

4 : to bring into comparison

Why don't you measure your skill against mine?

5 : to give a determination of size, capacity, or quantity : indicate

A thermometer measures temperature.

6 : to have as its size, capacity, or quantity

The cloth measures ten meters.

— measure up

: to satisfy needs or requirements

They did not measure up to expectations.

Medical Dictionary

measure

noun mea·sure \ ˈmezh-ər , ˈmāzh- \

medical Definition of measure

1 : an instrument or utensil for measuring

2 : a standard or unit of measurement; also : a system of such measures

metric measure

measure

verb

medical Definition of measure

measured; measuring play \ˈmezh-(ə-)riŋ, ˈmāzh-\

transitive verb

1 : to allot or apportion in measured amounts

2 : to ascertain the measurements of

3 : to serve as a measure of

a thermometer measures temperature

intransitive verb

: to have a specified measurement

Learn More about measure

See words that rhyme with measure Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for measure Spanish Central: Translation of measure Nglish: Translation of measure for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of measure for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about measure

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measure

Definition of measure

Examples of measure in a Sentence

Recent Examples of measure from the Web

Origin and Etymology of measure

measure Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

measure

Definition of measure

measurability

measurable

measurably

measurer

Examples of measure in a Sentence

Recent Examples of measure from the Web

Origin and Etymology of measure

measure Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Phrases Related to MEASURE

Related Phrases

MEASURE Defined for English Language Learners

measure

Definition of measure for English Language Learners

measure

Definition of measure for English Language Learners

MEASURE Defined for Kids

measure

Definition of measure for Students

measure

Definition of measure for Students

Medical Dictionary

measure

medical Definition of measure

measure

medical Definition of measure

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