\ ˈmēt
\
\
meted; meting
Definition of mete
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: to give out by measure : dole out
She realized the stern retribution which justice metes to the murderer.— Edgar Rice Burroughs
—usually used with out mete out punishment
mete
nounDefinition of mete (Entry 2 of 2)
: boundary
metes and bounds
Examples of mete in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
The intentionally campy series follows her return to her hometown of Purgatory to mete out justice against reincarnated demons called Revenants.
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Kathy Passero, cleveland, "‘Wynonna Earp’ returns to Syfy | How to watch, live stream, TV channel, time," 5 Mar. 2021
There's the scientific side, with its crash testing and crash-prevention assessments, and the media side to mete out public praise—or, as the situation warrants, shame.
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Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, "IIHS Top Safety Pick Prize Goes to Record Number of Vehicles for 2021," 26 Feb. 2021
The goal, according to lawyers and others supportive of such efforts, is to mete out some form of punishment for those who helped undermine confidence in the election results and fueled the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
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Rosalind S. Helderman, Anchorage Daily News, "Impeachment is over, but other efforts to reckon with Trump’s post-election chaos have just begun," 22 Feb. 2021
The in-demand exhibition lives in a fairly tight gallery space, requiring the museum to offer only 80 tickets per hour and to carefully mete out how many people are allowed inside at once.
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New York Times, "Is Seeing That Renoir Essential? In the Pandemic, Cities Differ," 2 Feb. 2021
The Trump administration was required by law to mete out some sanctions on Turkey for the S-400 transaction.
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Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY, "Trump administration sanctions Turkey, a NATO ally, over its purchase of Russian missile defense system," 15 Dec. 2020
But that doesn’t mean the court’s conservative majority might not mete out some substantial harm.
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Simon Lazarus, The New Republic, "The Supreme Court’s Obamacare Bait and Switch," 16 Nov. 2020
Until then, however, those who teach students and mete out discipline will have to navigate an uncertain, constantly shifting educational landscape.
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Kathleen Foody, The Christian Science Monitor, "What happens to classroom rules when school is at home?," 13 Oct. 2020
There's obviously something cathartic about seeing these victims turn the tables and unite to mete out justice.
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Brian Lowry, CNN, "'Love Fraud' feels like the docuseries version of a Lifetime movie," 28 Aug. 2020
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Common sense would dictate asking for nothing short of the moon back, especially with the leverage mete running.
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Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, "Keeler: Will Nolan Arenado be the straw that breaks Jeff Bridich’s back?," 22 Dec. 2019
It has not yet been snared in a catalog of designations and coordinates, of metes and bounds.
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Barry Lopez, Harper's magazine, "Polar Light," 10 Jan. 2019
It has not yet been snared in a catalog of designations and coordinates, of metes and bounds.
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Barry Lopez, Harper's magazine, "Polar Light," 10 Jan. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mete.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Last Updated
16 Mar 2021
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Cite this Entry
“Mete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mete. Accessed 11 Apr. 2021.
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More Definitions for mete
mete
verb
\ ˈmēt
\
\
meted; meting
Kids Definition of mete
: to distribute as deserved
The judge will mete out punishment.
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The first known use of mete was before the 12th century
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