mete out

phrasal verb

meted out; meting out; metes out

: to give (something) to the people who one decides should get it : to give out or distribute (something)

We're trying to be fair in meting out rewards and punishments.

—usually used to refer to something unpleasant (such as punishment)

Huge fines were meted out as punishment.

The king meted out justice as he saw fit.

Examples of mete out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This was meted out through a racing time trial two weeks into practice. —Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 5 Nov. 2025

Barca appealed the decision and the €500,000 fine meted out, but a CAS panel sided with UEFA. —Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025

And for some reason, there’s still some punishment that needs to be meted out [to her]. —Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025

But make no mistake — the God of this New York underworld is the same Old Testament–esque daddy of Breaking Bad who metes out every act of self-interest with some form of just deserts down the line. —Andy Andersen, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2025

Rhymes for mete out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout