What does "measure" mean?
A prescribed quantity or extent.; Moderation, temperance.
Measure
/ˈmɛʒ.ə/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A prescribed quantity or extent.; Moderation, temperance.
- Grammar: measure is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: measurement, quantity, step, metric.
- Useful contrasts: highly theoretical modeling, dump, eye.
- Usage evidence: We are, in large measure, responsible for students' success in the entrance exam.
How to use "measure"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "measure" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "measure" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "measure" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "measure" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "measure" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "measurement" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "measure", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A prescribed quantity or extent.; Moderation, temperance. obsolete
"I will correct thee in measure, and will not leaue thee altogether vnpunished."
- 2 how much there is or how many there are of something that you can quantify wordnet
- 3 A prescribed quantity or extent.; A limit that cannot be exceeded; a bound. (Now chiefly in set phrases.)
"Mom's rage has no measure."
- 4 any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal wordnet
- 5 A prescribed quantity or extent.; 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 much more difficult assignment against Ukraine."
Show 23 more definitions
- 6 the act or process of assigning numbers to phenomena according to a rule wordnet
- 7 The act or result of measuring.; A receptacle or vessel of a standard size, capacity etc. as used to deal out specific quantities of some substance.
"a measure of salt"
- 8 a container of some standard capacity that is used to obtain fixed amounts of a substance wordnet
- 9 The act or result of measuring.; A standard against which something can be judged; a criterion.
"Honesty is the true measure of a man."
- 10 measuring instrument having a sequence of marks at regular intervals; used as a reference in making measurements wordnet
- 11 The act or result of measuring.; Any of various standard units of capacity.
"The villagers paid a tithe of a thousand measures of corn."
- 12 a statute in draft before it becomes law wordnet
- 13 The act or result of measuring.; A unit of measurement.
"The fragments shrank by increments of about three kilodaltons (a measure of molecular weight)."
- 14 musical notation for a repeating pattern of musical beats wordnet
- 15 The act or result of measuring.; 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."
- 16 (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse wordnet
- 17 The act or result of measuring.; The act or process of measuring. archaic
- 18 a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated wordnet
- 19 The act or result of measuring.; A ruler, measuring stick, or graduated tape used to take measurements.
- 20 The act or result of measuring.; A bed or stratum.
"coal measures; lead measures"
- 21 The act or result of measuring.; A number which is contained in a given number a number of times without a remainder; a divisor or factor. archaic
"the greatest common measure of two or more numbers"
- 22 The act or result of measuring.; 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
- 23 Metrical rhythm.; A melody. archaic
- 24 Metrical rhythm.; A dance. archaic
"He took her soft hand, ere her mother could bar,— / "Now tread we a measure!" said young Lochinvar."
- 25 Metrical rhythm.; The manner of ordering and combining the quantities, or long and short syllables; meter; rhythm; hence, a metrical foot.
"a poem in iambic measure"
- 26 Metrical rhythm.; 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.
- 27 A course of action.; Actions designed to achieve some purpose; plans. in-plural
"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.."
- 28 A course of action.; 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."
Verb
- 1 To ascertain the quantity of a unit of material via calculated comparison with respect to a standard.
"We measured the temperature with a thermometer."
- 2 express as a number or measure or quantity wordnet
- 3 To be of (a certain size), to have (a certain measurement) stative
"The window measured two square feet."
- 4 determine the measurements of something or somebody, take measurements of wordnet
- 5 To estimate the unit size of something.
"I measure that at 10 centimetres."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 evaluate or estimate the nature, quality, ability, extent, or significance of wordnet
- 7 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."
- 8 have certain dimensions wordnet
- 9 To obtain or set apart; to mark in even increments.
- 10 To traverse, cross, pass along; to travel over. rare
"A true devoted pilgrim is not weary / To measure kingdoms with his feeble steps."
- 11 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 desires"
- 12 To allot or distribute by measure; to set off or apart by measure; often with. often
"With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."
- 13 To regulate or control (one's actions, speech, etc.), as if one were carefully measuring their length or quantity. transitive
"To measure one’s own activity, to make it conform to these standards of clearness, brevity and truth, is practically a very difficult matter."
Example
"We are, in large measure, responsible for students' success in the entrance exam."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "measure"?
Common synonyms include: measurement, quantity, step, metric, a, accent.
How do you use "measure" in a sentence?
We are, in large measure, responsible for students' success in the entrance exam.
How do you pronounce "measure"?
Pronounced /ˈmɛʒ.ə/.
Etymology
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.