measure
Other forms: measures; measured; measuring
To measure something is to figure out how much of it is there. A measure can also be a step toward a goal: take measures to ensure you don't flunk an exam by cracking the books.
You can take measures to improve your health: limit sweets, get enough rest, get some exercise, and wash your hands to avoid the spread of germs. The noun also means a standard for comparison. You can measure your time against the good you will do if you volunteer to help out a child via a mentoring program.
Definitions of measure
-
determine the measurements of something or somebody, take measurements of“Measure the length of the wall”synonyms: measure out, mensuratetypes:shootmeasure the altitude of by using a sextanttriangulatemeasure by using trigonometrycalibratemeasure the caliber oftype of:
-
evaluate or estimate the nature, quality, ability, extent, or significance ofassessestimate the value of (property) for taxation
-
express as a number or measure or quantitysynonyms: quantifytypes:gaugemeasure precisely and against a standardscalemeasure with or as if with scalesmetermeasure with a meterclock, timemeasure the time or duration of an event or action or the person who performs an action in a certain period of timetitratemeasure by (the volume or concentration of solutions) by titrationplumbmeasure the depth of somethingmistimetime incorrectlyhefttest the weight of something by lifting it
-
have certain dimensions
-
the act or process of assigning numbers to phenomena according to a rulesynonyms: measurement, measuring, mensurationtypes:seismographythe measurement of tremors and shocks and undulatory movements of earthquakesquantitative analysis, quantitative chemical analysischemical analysis to determine the amounts of each element in the substanceactinometrymeasuring the intensity of electromagnetic radiation (especially of the sun's rays)algometrymeasuring sensitivity to pain or pressureanemographyrecording anemometrical measurementsanemometrymeasuring wind speed and directionangulationthe precise measurement of anglesanthropometrymeasurement and study of the human body and its parts and capacitiesarterial blood gasesmeasurement of the pH level and the oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations in arterial blood; important in diagnosis of many respiratory diseasesaudiometrythe measurement of a person's range and sensitivity of hearingcalorimetrymeasurement of quantities of heatcephalometrymeasurement of human headsdensitometrymeasuring the optical density of a substance by shining light on it and measuring its transmissiondosimetrymeasuring the dose of radiation emitted by a radioactive sourcemental measurementa generic term used to cover any application of measurement techniques to the quantification of mental functionsmicrometrymeasuring with a micrometerobservationthe act of making and recording a measurementpelvimetrymeasurement of the dimensions of the bony birth canal (to determine whether vaginal birth is possible)photometrymeasurement of the properties of light (especially luminous intensity)quantificationthe act of discovering or expressing the quantity of somethingradioactive datingmeasurement of the amount of radioactive material (usually carbon 14) that an object contains; can be used to estimate the age of the objectsamplingmeasurement at regular intervals of the amplitude of a varying waveform (in order to convert it to digital form)soundingthe act of measuring depth of water (usually with a sounding line)sound ranginglocating a source of sound (as an enemy gun) by measurements of the time the sound arrives at microphones in known positionsscalingact of measuring or arranging or adjusting according to a scalespirometrythe use of a spirometer to measure vital capacitysurveyingthe practice of measuring angles and distances on the ground so that they can be accurately plotted on a maptelemetryautomatic transmission and measurement of data from remote sources by wire or radio or other meansthermometrythe measurement of temperaturethermogravimetrythe measurement of changes in weight as a function of changes in temperature used as a technique of chemically analyzing substancestonometrythe measurement of intraocular pressure by determining the amount of force needed to make a slight indentation in the corneatriangulationa method of surveying; the area is divided into triangles and the length of one side and its angles with the other two are measured, then the lengths of the other sides can be calculatedvolumetric analysisquantitative analysis by the use of definite volumes of standard solutions or reagentsvolumetric analysisdetermination of the volume of gases (or changes in their volume) during combinationgravimetric analysisquantitative analysis by weightcytophotometrythe study of chemical compounds inside a cell by means of a cytophotometerscalagethe act of scaling in weight or quantity or dimensionmental test, mental testing, psychometric test, testany standardized procedure for measuring sensitivity or memory or intelligence or aptitude or personality etcradio observationan observation made with a radio telescopetype of:activityany specific behavior
-
how much there is or how many there are of something that you can quantifytypes:chance, probabilitya measure of how likely it is that some event will occur; a number expressing the ratio of favorable cases to the whole number of cases possiblequantum(physics) the smallest discrete quantity of some physical property that a system can possess (according to quantum theory)economic value, valuethe amount (of money or goods or services) that is considered to be a fair equivalent for something elsefundamental measure, fundamental quantityone of the four quantities that are the basis of systems of measurementdefinite quantitya specific measure of amountindefinite quantityan estimated quantityrelative quantitya quantity relative to some purposemetric, system of measurementa system of related measures that facilitates the quantification of some particular characteristiccordagethe amount of wood in an area as measured in cordsradical(mathematics) a quantity expressed as the root of another quantityvolumethe amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an objectvolumea relative amountproofa measure of alcoholic strength expressed as an integer twice the percentage of alcohol present (by volume)period of play, play, playing period(in games or plays or other performances) the time during which play proceedstemperaturethe degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment (corresponding to its molecular activity)massthe property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational fieldconditional probability, contingent probabilitythe probability that an event will occur given that one or more other events have occurredcross section(physics) the probability that a particular interaction (as capture or ionization) will take place between particles; measured in barnsexceedance(geology) the probability that an earthquake will generate a level of ground motion that exceeds a specified reference level during a given exposure timejoint probabilitythe probability of two events occurring togetherrisk, risk of infectionthe probability of becoming infected given that exposure to an infectious agent has occurredlengththe linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in placequasiparticlea quantum of energy (in a crystal lattice or other system) that has position and momentum and can in some respects be regarded as a particlecriterion, standard, touchstonea basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluatedmess of pottageanything of trivial valuepremiumthe amount that something in scarce supply is valued above its nominal valuesystem of weights and measuressystem of measurement for length and weight and durationpoint systema system of graduating sizes of type in multiples of the pointinformation measurea system of measurement of information based on the probabilities of the events that convey informationutility(economics) a measure that is to be maximized in any situation involving choiceplurality, relative majority(in an election with more than 2 options) the number of votes for the candidate or party receiving the greatest number (but less that half of the votes)acid value(chemistry) the amount of free acid present in fat as measured by the milligrams of potassium hydroxide needed to neutralize itchlorinitya measure of the quantity of chlorine or other halides in water (especially seawater)numbera concept of quantity involving zero and unitsquirea quantity of paper; 24 or 25 sheetsreama quantity of paper; 480 or 500 sheets; one ream equals 20 quiressolubilitythe quantity of a particular substance that can dissolve in a particular solvent (yielding a saturated solution)toxicitythe degree to which something is poisonousunit, unit of measurementany division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchangemagnetic fluxa measure of the strength of a magnetic field over a given areaBrix scalea system for measuring the concentration of sugar solutionscircular measuremeasurement of angles in radiansboard measurea system of units for measuring lumber based on the board footBeaufort scalea scale from 0 to 12 for the force of the windaught, cipher, cypher, goose egg, nada, naught, nil, nix, nothing, null, zero, zilch, zip, zippoa quantity of no importancebagthe quantity of game taken in a particular period (usually by one person)breakagethe quantity brokencapacity(computer science) the amount of information (in bytes) that can be stored on a disk drivecorrection, fudge factora quantity that is added or subtracted in order to increase the accuracy of a scientific measurecontainerfulthe quantity that a container will holdheadspacethe volume left at the top of a filled container (bottle or jar or tin) before sealinglarge indefinite amount, large indefinite quantityan indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitudelimit, limit point, point of accumulationthe mathematical value toward which a function goes as the independent variable approaches infinityoutput, production, yieldthe quantity of something (as a commodity) that is created (usually within a given period of time)neighborhood, regionthe approximate amount of something (usually used prepositionally as in `in the region of')outagethe amount of something (as whiskey or oil) lost in storage or transportationreserve(medicine) potential capacity to respond in order to maintain vital functionsrunthe production achieved during a continuous period of operation (of a machine or factory etc.)small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantityan indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitudespillagethe amount that has spilledspoilagethe amount that has spoiledtankagethe quantity contained in (or the capacity of) a tank or tanksullagethe amount that a container (as a wine bottle or tank) lacks of being fulltop-upan amount needed to restore something to its former levelworthan indefinite quantity of something having a specified valueskinfula quantity of alcoholic drink sufficient to make you drunkdosage, dosethe quantity of an active agent (substance or radiation) taken in or absorbed at any one timeloadan amount of alcohol sufficient to intoxicateprecipitationthe quantity of water falling to earth at a specific place within a specified period of timesupplyan amount of something available for usetemperature scalea system of measuring temperature24-hour interval, day, mean solar day, solar day, twenty-four hour period, twenty-four hourstime for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axisnightthe dark part of the diurnal cycle considered a time unitmean solar time, mean time(astronomy) time based on the motion of the mean sun (an imaginary sun moving uniformly along the celestial equator)TDT, TT, ephemeris time, terrestrial dynamical time, terrestrial time(astronomy) a measure of time defined by Earth's orbital motion; terrestrial time is mean solar time corrected for the irregularities of the Earth's motionsaccess time(computer science) the interval between the time data is requested by the system and the time the data is provided by the drivedistancea remote point in timedeadlinethe point in time at which something must be completedarrival time, time of arrivalthe time at which a public conveyance is scheduled to arrive at a given destinationdeparture time, time of departurethe time at which a public conveyance is scheduled to depart from a given point of originmontha time unit of approximately 30 daysday, sidereal daythe time for one complete rotation of the earth relative to a particular star, about 4 minutes shorter than a mean solar daymidtermmiddle of an academic term or a political term in officemidtermthe middle of the gestation periodbell, ship's bell(nautical) each of the eight half-hour units of nautical time signaled by strokes of a ship's bell; eight bells signals 4:00, 8:00, or 12:00 o'clock, either a.m. or p.m.quartera unit of time equal to 15 minutes or a quarter of an hours, sec, second1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unitesattosecondone quintillionth (10^-18) of a second; one thousandth of a femtosecondfemtosecondone quadrillionth (10^-15) of a second; one thousandth of a picosecondpicosecondone trillionth (10^-12) of a second; one thousandth of a nanosecondnanosecondone billionth (10^-9) of a second; one thousandth of a microsecondmicrosecondone millionth (10^-6) of a second; one thousandth of a millisecondseta unit of play in tennis or squashrun-timethe time at which a (software or multimedia) program is runbeginning, commencement, first, get-go, kickoff, offset, outset, showtime, start, starting timethe time at which something is supposed to beginmiddletime between the beginning and the end of a temporal periodseek time(computer science) the time it takes for a read/write head to move to a specific data tracktime constant(electronics) the time required for the current or voltage in a circuit to rise or fall exponentially through approximately 63 per cent of its amplitudelunitidal intervalinterval between the moon's transit of a particular meridian and the next high tide at that meridianabsencethe time interval during which something or somebody is awaybreak, intermission, interruption, pause, suspensiona time during which something is temporarily stopped or delayedinterludean intervening period or episodelatent periodthe time that elapses before the presence of a disease is manifested by symptomslatency, latent period, reaction time, response timethe time that elapses between a stimulus and the response to iteternitya seemingly endless time interval (waiting)lead timethe time interval between the initiation and the completion of a production processperiodthe interval taken to complete one cycle of a regularly repeating phenomenonphase, phase anglea particular point in the time of a cycle; measured from some arbitrary zero and expressed as an anglefloatthe time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its paymentshow timethe point in time at which an entertainment (a movie or television show etc.) is scheduled to beginthenthat time; that momentlatency, rotational latency(computer science) the time it takes for a specific block of data on a data track to rotate around to the read/write headprocessing timethe time it takes to complete a prescribed proceduretype of:abstract entity, abstractiona general concept formed by extracting common features from specific examples
-
a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated“they set the measure for all subsequent work”synonyms: criterion, standard, touchstonetypes:benchmarka standard by which something can be measured or judgedERA, earned run average(baseball) a measure of a pitcher's effectiveness; calculated as the average number of earned runs allowed by the pitcher for every nine innings pitchedGPA, grade point averagea measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attemptedprocrustean bed, procrustean rule, procrustean standarda standard that is enforced uniformly without regard to individualityyardsticka measure or standard used for comparisonmedium of exchange, monetary systemanything that is generally accepted as a standard of value and a measure of wealth in a particular country or regiongauge, standard of measurementaccepted or approved instance or example of a quantity or quality against which others are judged or measured or comparedbaselinean imaginary line or standard by which things are measured or comparednorma standard or model or pattern regarded as typicalmoneythe most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tendercurrencythe metal or paper medium of exchange that is presently usedindexa numerical scale used to compare variables with one another or with some reference numberlogarithmic scalescale on which actual distances from the origin are proportional to the logarithms of the corresponding scale numbersMercalli scalea scale formerly used to describe the magnitude of an earthquake; an earthquake detected only by seismographs is a I and an earthquake that destroys all buildings is a XIIMohs scalea scale of hardness of solids; talc is 0 and diamond is 10; ordering is determined by which substance can scratch another substanceRichter scalea logarithmic scale of 1 to 10 formerly used to express the magnitude of an earthquake on the basis of the size of seismograph oscillationsmoment magnitude scalea logarithmic scale of 1 to 10 (a successor to the Richter scale) that enables seismologists to compare the energy released by different earthquakes on the basis of the area of the geological fault that ruptured in the quaketemperature scalea system of measuring temperaturetype of:metric, system of measurementa system of related measures that facilitates the quantification of some particular characteristic
-
measuring instrument having a sequence of marks at regular intervals; used as a reference in making measurementssynonyms: measuring rod, measuring sticktypes:board rulea measure used in computing board feetrule, rulermeasuring stick consisting of a strip of wood or metal or plastic with a straight edge that is used for drawing straight lines and measuring lengthssize sticka mechanical measuring stick used by shoe fitters to measure the length and width of your footcarpenter's rulea rule used by a carpenterfoot rulea ruler one foot longtype of:measuring device, measuring instrument, measuring systeminstrument that shows the extent or amount or quantity or degree of something
-
a container of some standard capacity that is used to obtain fixed amounts of a substancetypes:measuring cupgraduated cup used to measure liquid or granular ingredientstype of:containerany object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another)
-
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal“the situation called for strong measures”synonyms: steptypes:countermeasurean action taken to offset another actionporcupine provision, shark repellenta measure undertaken by a corporation to discourage unwanted takeover attemptsguard, precaution, safeguarda precautionary measure warding off impending danger or damage or injury etc.golden parachutegiving top executives lucrative benefits that must be paid by the acquirer if they are discharged after a takeovergreenmail(corporation) the practice of purchasing enough shares in a firm to threaten a takeover and thereby forcing the owners to buy those shares back at a premium in order to stay in businesspac-man strategythe target company defends itself by threatening to take over its acquirerpoison pillthe target company defends itself by making its stock less attractive to an acquirersafe harborthe target company defends itself by acquiring a company so onerously regulated that it makes the target less attractivescorched-earth policythe target company defends itself by selling off its crown jewelsbackstopa precaution in case of an emergencysecurity, security measuresmeasures taken as a precaution against theft or espionage or sabotage etc.countermine(military) a tunnel dug to defeat similar activities by the enemytype of:
-
a statute in draft before it becomes lawsynonyms: billtypes:appropriation billa legislative act proposing to authorize the expenditure of public funds for a specified purposebill of attaindera legislative act finding a person guilty of treason or felony without a trialbottle billa statute that would require merchants to reclaim used bottlesfarm billa statute that would regulate farm production and pricestrade billa statute that would regulate foreign tradetype of:instrument, legal document, legal instrument, official document(law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right
-
musical notation for a repeating pattern of musical beatssynonyms: bartype of:musical notation(music) notation used by musicians
-
(prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of versetypes:catalexisthe absence of a syllable in the last foot of a line or versescansionanalysis of verse into metrical patternsfoot, metrical foot, metrical unit(prosody) a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythmdactyla metrical unit with stressed-unstressed-unstressed syllablesamphibracha metrical unit with unstressed-stressed-unstressed syllables (e.g., `remember')trocheea metrical unit with stressed-unstressed syllablesspondeea metrical unit with stressed-stressed syllablestype of:
Pronunciation
US
UK
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘measure'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
Word Family
Vocabulary lists containing measure
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
A thorough survey of various textbooks, assignments, content area standards, and examinations yields the following list of words compiled by Jim Burke. You cannot expect to succeed on assignments if you do not understand the directions.
Music - Introductory
Review this list and your music vocabulary will be pitch perfect. You'll learn about musical notation, genres of music, different types of instruments, and much more. Master these words and you won't miss a beat!
Beowulf vocabulary
Vocabulary from "Beowulf" (translated by by Gummere).