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
It was announced a few days later that the Iranian authorities had decided to reactivate a six-year sentence originally meted out to Panahi in 2010 alongside a 20-year filmmaking and travel ban.
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Zac Ntim, Deadline, 2 Jan. 2026
Vartkessian has spoken to jurors who meted out the ultimate penalty, and some of them wouldn’t think twice about doing it again.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Over the past decade and a half, James Cameron’s three Avatar movies, all shot in three dimensions (and the latter two at a high frame rate), have meted out an argument for going big in film—for strapping on the most explosive new technologies in cinema and using them to blow our minds.
—Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2025
By contrast, Red Threshold breaches will see a minimum six-point deduction meted out to offenders.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mete out
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Zac Ntim, Deadline, 2 Jan. 2026
Vartkessian has spoken to jurors who meted out the ultimate penalty, and some of them wouldn’t think twice about doing it again.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Over the past decade and a half, James Cameron’s three Avatar movies, all shot in three dimensions (and the latter two at a high frame rate), have meted out an argument for going big in film—for strapping on the most explosive new technologies in cinema and using them to blow our minds.
—Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2025
By contrast, Red Threshold breaches will see a minimum six-point deduction meted out to offenders.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mete out
Cite this Entry
“Mete out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mete%20out. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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