mete out

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

The Western Illinois recruit thrives on meting out punishment and refuses to go down easily. — Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 8 Nov. 2026

Hong Kong — Joshua Wong, once a teenage figurehead of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, faces the prospect of entering middle age in prison, after a court Thursday meted out a 10-year sentence over a second national security conviction. — Chris Lau, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2026

Assembling a boy band is a way of splitting the egg myself, and repairing an injury meted out by wrathful gods in one fell swoop. — Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026

One of the biggest fixes McGrane wants to see to campaign finance laws is how fines are meted out. — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 22 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for mete out

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