Word.ws English Dictionary

measure

Syllables: meas·ure/ˈmɛʒ.ə//ˈmɛʒ.ɚ/

measure noun: moderation, temperance.

Noun

measure (countable and uncountable, plural measures)

  1. (obsolete) Moderation, temperance.
    • I will correct thee in measure, and will not leaue thee altogether vnpunished.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 30
  2. A limit that cannot be exceeded; a bound. (Now chiefly in set phrases.)
    • Mom's rage has no measure.
    • Full to the utmost measure of what bliss Human desires can seek or apprehend.1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
  3. An (unspecified) portion or quantity.
    • It ended up being a bittersweet night for England, full of goals to send the crowd home happy, buoyed by the news that Montenegro and Poland had drawn elsewhere in Group H but also with a measure of regret about what happened to Danny Welbeck and what it means for Roy Hodgson's team going into a...6 September 2013, Daniel Taylor, “Danny Welbeck leads England's rout of Moldova but hit by Ukraine ban”, in The Guardian
  4. A receptacle or vessel of a standard size, capacity etc. as used to deal out specific quantities of some substance.
    • a measure of salt
  5. A standard against which something can be judged; a way of measuring it; a criterion for it.
    • By what measure should we judge the performance of our teachers?
    • Honesty is the true measure of a man.
    Synonyms:
    metric
  6. Any of various standard units of capacity.
    • The villagers paid a tithe of a thousand measures of corn.
  7. A unit of measurement.
    • The fragments shrank by increments of about three kilodaltons (a measure of molecular weight).1993, Scientific American, February 33.3
    Synonyms:
    metric
  8. The size of someone or something, as ascertained by measuring. (Now chiefly in make to measure.)
    • The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 11:9
  9. (archaic) The act or process of measuring.
  10. A ruler, measuring stick, or graduated tape used to take measurements.
  11. A bed or stratum.
    • coal measures; lead measures
    • For many years the coal measures on the shores of Lough Allen were worked only in the most primitive fashion, and the coal was transported laboriously in the inevitable ass carts of the Irish peasant.1951 May, R. K. Kirkland, “The Cavan & Leitrim Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 339
  12. (archaic) A number which is contained in a given number a number of times without a remainder; a divisor or factor.
    • the greatest common measure of two or more numbers
Show 7 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. A function which obeys a particular set of formal conditions, created to generalize and rigorize the notions of length, volume, and probability. Formally, a non-negative, countably additive set function on a sigma-algebra; see Measure (mathematics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
  2. (archaic) A melody.
  3. (archaic) A dance.
    • He took her soft hand, ere her mother could bar,— / "Now tread we a measure!" said young Lochinvar.1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “Canto Fifth. The Court.”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William...
    • They danced on silently, softly. Their feet played tricks to the beat of the tireless measure, that exquisitely asinine blare which is England's punishment for having lost America.1922, Michael Arlen, “2/2/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days
  4. The manner of ordering and combining the quantities, or long and short syllables; meter; rhythm; hence, a metrical foot.
    • a poem in iambic measure
  5. A musical designation consisting of all notes and or rests delineated by two vertical bars; an equal and regular division of the whole of a composition; a bar.
    Synonyms:
    bar
  6. (in plural) Actions designed to achieve some purpose; plans.
    • The president said the measures involve a ban on all visitors to the country via all ports of entry who aren't residents or diplomats. El Salvadorans or residents who return to El Salvador will be quarantined for 30 days..2020 March 12, “It's coronavirus-free, but El Salvador is banning all foreign travellers”, in The Straits Times
  7. A piece of legislation.
    • The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55

Verb

measure (third-person singular simple present measures, present participle measuring, simple past and past participle measured)

  1. (transitive) To ascertain the quantity of a unit of material via calculated comparison with respect to a standard.
    • We measured the temperature with a thermometer.
    • You should measure the angle with a spirit level.
    Synonyms:
    take, dimension
  2. (stative) To be of (a certain size), to have (a certain measurement).
    • The window measured two square feet.
    • This park is the first large-scale public park in Taiwan. It is located on the border of Nantzu District in Kaohsiung City and Chiaotou village, Kaohsiung County and this park measures 95 hectares.2003, An Outline of Interior Affairs, Republic of China, 2003, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 114
  3. To estimate the unit size of something.
    • I measure that at 10 centimetres.
  4. To judge, value, or appraise.
    • ſince they meaſure our deſerts so meane,
      That in conceit beare Empires on our ſpeares,
      Affecting thoughts coequall with the cloudes,
      They ſhalbe kept our forced followers,
      Til with their eies they view vs Emperours.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
    • Great are thy works, Jehovah, infinite / Thy power! what thought can measure thee?1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
  5. To obtain or set apart; to mark in even increments.
  6. (rare) To traverse, cross, pass along; to travel over.
    • A true devoted pilgrim is not weary / To measure kingdoms with his feeble steps.c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
    • "And for a very sensible reason; there never was but one like her; or, that is, I have always thought so until to-day," replied the tar, glancing toward Natalie; "for my old eyes have seen pretty much everything they have got in this little world. Ha! I should like to see the inch of land or water...1859, Ferna Vale, Natalie; or, A Gem Among the Sea-Weeds
  7. To adjust by a rule or standard.
    • To secure a contented spirit, you must measure your desires by your fortune and condition, not your fortunes by your desires1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC
  8. (often) To allot or distribute by measure; to set off or apart by measure; often with.
    • With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 7:2
    • That portion of eternity which is called time, measured out by the sun.1711 September 11 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, September 1, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 159; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a...
  9. (transitive) To regulate or control (one's actions, speech, etc.), as if one were carefully measuring their length or quantity.
    • To measure one’s own activity, to make it conform to these standards of clearness, brevity and truth, is practically a very difficult matter.1912, A. Everett George, The Montessori Method, Frederick A. Stokes Co., translation of original by Maria Montessori, page 110
    • In its opening portrait of Madame Caillaux, the rightist and anti-Caillaux Illustration asked its readers to imagine not a wronged victim or a female ruled by emotion but a careful player who measured her every word.1992, Edward Berenson, The Trial of Madame Caillaux, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page 17

measure meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

measure in Hindi

prescribed quantity or extent
मात्रा mātrā
something to take measurements
मापन māpan
size ascertained by measuring
माप māp, नाप nāp, मापन māpan

measure in Tamil

அள, அளவெடு, அளவு, நடவடிக்கை, வழிவகை

measure in Marathi

measure, amount
प्रमाण pramāṇ
measure, measurement, amount
माप māp
to measure
मोजणे moj̈aṇe
measure
निष्पत्ती niṣpattī

measure in Urdu

measure
مان mān, کارروائی kārravāī
to measure
ناپنا nāpnā
measure, standard
عیار 'iyār
More languagesFewer languages
measure in Bengali
মান man, মাপ map, মাপা mapa, মাত্রা matra
measure in Telugu
మాత్ర mātra, ప్రమాణము pramāṇamu, కొల kola, కొలుచు kolucu
measure in Malayalam
അളക്കുക aḷakkuka
measure in Kannada
ಅಳೆ aḷe
measure in Punjabi
ਮਾਨ mān, متھنا mitthṇā
measure in Gujarati
માપ māp, પ્રમાણ pramāṇ
measure in Odia
ମାପିବା māpibā, ଅଟକଳ aṭakaḷa, କଣ୍ଟା kaṇṭā
measure in Sanskrit
मायते māyate, ऊर्दते ūrdate
measure in Assamese
জোখ zükh, জোখা zükha
measure in Nepali
मापन गर्नुहोस्, मापन गर्ने
measure in Arabic
قِيَاس qiyās, فَاصِلَة fāṣila, إِجْرَاء ʔijrāʔ, قَاسَ qāsa
measure in Malay
ukur, sukat
measure in Indonesian
ukur
measure in Persian
پیمودن peymūdan, اندازه گرفتن andâze gereftan
measure in Thai
วัด wát
measure in Vietnamese
đo, đo lường

Examples of measure in a sentence

  • but there is never found a foolish man who knows the measure of his stomach2005, J Coarguo, Hávamál: The Words of the High One a Personal Interpretation:
  • They have gloried to this day, the tedious interminable big-screen replays of that golden summer irritating beyond measure.25 August 2009, Mike Selvey, The Guardian:
  • City were also the victors on that occasion 56 years ago, winning 5-0, but this visit was portrayed as a measure of their progress against the 19-time champions.2011 October 23, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1-6 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
  • Youth worker Rob, 25, is 5’ 3” tall but measures 6’ 6” around his girth – just an inch less than the height of England’s beanpole striker Peter Crouch.2012 March 7, Richard Smith, “I'm wider than I am tall: 35 stone Rob measures 6ft 6in around his waist”, in Daily Mirror, archived from the...

All 40 example sentences with measure

Synonyms of measure

Forms of measure

Noun
pluralmeasures
Verb
third-person singular presentmeasures
present participlemeasuring
past participlemeasured
pastmeasured

Past tense of measure: measured

Plural of measure: measures

Origin of measure

From Middle English mesure, from Old French mesure, from Latin mēnsūra (“a measure”), mētior (“to measure”, supine stem in mēns-) + -tūra. Largely displaced native Old English metan ("to measure" whence modern mete) and ġemet (“a measure”). See also -ure.

Words formed from measure

Phrases with measure

13 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with measure

Questions about measure

What does measure mean?
Measure means moderation, temperance.
What is measure in Hindi?
Measure in Hindi is मात्रा (mātrā), मापन (māpan), माप (māp). See Measure meaning in Hindi.
How do you use measure in a sentence?
but there is never found a foolish man who knows the measure of his stomach
What part of speech is measure?
Measure can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce measure?
Measure is pronounced /ˈmɛʒ.ə/ (UK).
What is the plural of measure?
The plural of measure is measures.

Words near measure in the dictionary

  1. measurages
  2. measurand
  3. measurands
  4. measuration
  5. measurations
  6. measure
  7. measure for measure
  8. measure of central tendency
  9. measure of location
  10. measure off
  11. measure one's length

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: measure (page history and authors); measure (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); निष्पत्ती (Marathi) (page history and authors); عیار (Urdu) (page history and authors); পরিমাণ (Bengali) (page history and authors); కొల (Telugu) (page history and authors); ಅಳೆ (Kannada) (page history and authors); متھنا (Punjabi) (page history and authors); ଅଟକଳ (Odia) (page history and authors); measure (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-measure.wav, en-us-measure.ogg.

Cite this entry: “measure.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/measure. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.