Meaning of measure in English

measure

verb

/ˈmeʒ.ər/ us

/ˈmeʒ.ɚ/

measure verb (SIZE)

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B2 [ T ]

to discover the exact size or amount of something:

"Will the table fit in here?" "I don't know - let's measure it."

This machine measures your heart rate.

He measured the flour into the bowl.

[ L only + noun ]

to be a particular size:

The area, measuring/which measures five kilometres by three kilometres, has been purchased by the army.

The screen measures 34 inches diagonally.

More examplesFewer examples

The main bedroom measures 24 ft by 18 ft (24' x 18').
Engine speed can be measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
The metre is the standard unit for measuring length in the SI system.
Measure all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
This stick is used for measuring the amount of oil in the engine - do you see the marks on it?

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Measuring & weighing

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

General words for size and amount

measure verb (JUDGE)

C2 [ T ]

to judge the quality, effect, importance, or value of something:

There is no way of measuring the damage done to morale.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Analysing and evaluating

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Phrasal verbs

measure someone/something against someone/something
measure something out
measure up
measure someone/something up

measure

noun

/ˈmeʒ.ər/ us

/ˈmeʒ.ɚ/

measure noun (METHOD)

B2 [ C usually plural ]

a way of achieving something, or a method for dealing with a situation:

take measures What further measures can we take to avoid terrorism?

[ + to infinitive ] Emergency measures to help the refugees are badly needed.

These measures were designed to improve car safety.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

necessary action

actionThey are considering legal action.
course of actionThey have not yet decided on a particular course of action.
measureMeasures are in place to prevent flooding.
stepThese simple steps will ensure that infections are not spread.

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Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to take action

take actionIt may already be too late to take action to prevent the loss of habitat these animals face.
actThey need to act decisively to prevent further damage to crops.
take measuresWe call on the government to take the necessary measures to bring to justice those responsible for this attack.
take stepsThe authorities have taken steps to prevent any reoccurrence of the problem.
do somethingIt's about time the government did something about it.

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More examplesFewer examples

The new tax would force companies to adopt energy-saving measures.
These measures are designed to reduce pollution.
Teachers claim such measures could unfairly disadvantage ethnic minorities.
In the past 10 years, preventive measures have radically reduced levels of tooth decay in children.
New measures have been introduced to try and ease traffic congestion in the city.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Ways of achieving things

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measure noun (SIZE)

[ C or U ]

a unit used for stating the size, weight, etc. of something, or a way of measuring:

weights and measures

The sample's density is a measure of its purity.

C2 [ C or U ] formal

amount:

measure of There was a large measure of agreement between the candidates.

in some measure His success was in some measure due to his being in the right place at the right time.

C2 [ C ]

an exact amount, especially of alcohol:

One unit of alcohol is equal to half a pint of beer or a standard measure of spirits.

[ C ] US

a bar

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The president's staff have no reliable measure of the damage done to his reputation.
The pole was a measure used for land in the past.
What measure do they use for diamonds?

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Measurements in general

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

General words for size and amount

Measurements of volume

Alcohol - general words

Beats or lengths of musical notes

measure noun (WAY OF JUDGING)

C2 [ C ]

a way of judging something:

measure of Record sales are not always a measure of a singer's popularity.

We have no accurate measure of the damage.

Compare

criterion
standard noun
touchstone
yardstick (STANDARD)

More examplesFewer examples

Repeat purchases are one measure of a product's popularity.
Their satisfied sighs were a good measure of the meal's success.
The president's staff have no reliable measure of the damage done to his reputation.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Measuring & weighing

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Idioms

have the measure of someone/something

take someone's/something's measure

(Definition of measure from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

measure | American Dictionary

measure

verb

/ˈmeʒ·ər/

measure verb (SIZE)

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to discover the exact size, amount, etc., of something, or to be of a particular size:

[ T ] "Will the table fit in here?" "I don’t know – I’ll measure it."

[ L ] The sofa measures (= is of the size of) 3 feet by 7 feet.

Phrasal verb

measure up

measure

noun

/ˈmeʒ·ər/

measure noun (METHOD)

[ C ]

a way to achieve something; a method:

Medicare was a measure intended to guarantee health care for everyone over the age of 65.

measure noun (SIZE)

[ C/U ]

a way of measuring, or a way of showing how much or how great something is:

[ C ] a system of weights and measures

[ U ] It is a measure of his popularity that he got over 70% of the vote.

[ C/U ]

Measure can also mean amount or degree:

[ U ] There was a large measure of luck in his quick promotion to company vice president.

[ C/U ] music

A measure is also one of the small equal parts into which a piece of music is divided, containing a fixed number of beats; a bar.

(Definition of measure from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

measure | Business English

measure

verb

/ˈmeʒər/ us

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[ I or T ]

to discover the exact size or amount of something:

Next, we need to measure the temperature of the mixture.

This machine measures the patient's heart rate.

measure sth in sth November was a record number for sales when measured in dollars.

measuring devices/equipment/techniques

[ T ]

to be of a particular size:

The office measures 12 metres by 6 metres.

[ T ]

to judge the quality, effect, importance, or value of something:

It is difficult to measure the success of the advertising campaign at this early stage.

Managers have changed the way they measure performance.

Phrasal verbs

measure sth against sth
measure sth out
measure up
measure sth/sb up

measure

noun

/ˈmeʒər/ us

[ C, usually plural ]

a way of achieving something, or a method for dealing with a situation:

These measures were designed to improve car safety.

We will introduce measures to reduce noise levels in the factory.

The company will need to take further measures to cut costs.

austerity/cost-cutting measures It had taken a series of cost-cutting measures, including closing one of its two plants.

drastic/draconian/radical measures

preventative/safety/security measures

[ C ] MEASURES

a unit used for giving the size, weight, etc. of something:

weights and measures

The standard measure of efficiency in the airline industry is 'cost per passenger mile'.

[ C or U ]

an amount or level of something:

There was a large measure of agreement between the two sides in the negotiation.

[ C ]

a way of judging something:

Record sales are not always a measure of a singer's popularity.

get a measure of sth It is difficult to get an accurate measure of employee performance in this industry.

a good/true/reliable measure Exports as a percentage of total sales are a good measure of international competitiveness.

for good measure

if something is given or done for good measure, it is given or done in addition to other things:

They're offering a good salary, with a company car thrown in for good measure.

have the measure of sb/sth

to understand what someone or something is like and to know how to deal with them:

The other team were experienced negotiators, but we had the measure of them.

Examples of measure

measure

This condition thus permitted us to measure the influence of performing two mental operations on the storage abilities of the children.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

To assess the accuracy of these measures, two sets of experiments were planned.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The studies use a nice mix of qualitative and quantitative measures, although they lack representative samples.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is commendable that the author draws on qualitative and quantitative measures throughout these chapters.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Our task-based approach is presented in view of a rigorous mathematically-based optimization formulation, where cost functions characterizing human performance measures are implemented.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Having taken these precautions, no associations between any of the immune or inflammatory measures and psychological health outcomes were observed.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Disciplinary measures were used including fines for pupils caught speaking the dialect on school campus.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

After 12 years, registration and attendance drops so that those pupils who were measured may be less representative of their age group in the community.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Presumably this approach is a cost-saving measure of the publishers.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Such a nuanced distinction requires a continuous measure that returns very finely graded values.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In this case, relative returns to some of the structural measures also improve even when barley is grown in both sites.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In the context of the model sketch presented above, stock returns and returns to capital are direct measures of productivity.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, no punitive measures can be taken against a laboratory that refuses to participate.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Each point represents the mean values of these 2 variables measured on 2 large hooks from each of 10 protoscoleces from a single isolate.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The duct was then replaced and the oscillating pressure measured in similar conditions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with measure

measure

These are words often used in combination with measure.

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accurate measure

But is the amount of red light needed to cancel the greenness of a stimulus really an accurate measure of its degree of greenness?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

additional measure

The development of vaccines against filarial infections can act as an additional measure to existing therapeutic methods for the elimination of this disease.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

administrative measure

But exactly how this will be worked must be left to the courts, as an administrative measure.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

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What is the pronunciation of measure?