mete
Other forms: metes
If you "mete out" something (the word is usually followed by "out"), it means you dish it out in very careful measured amounts. Anyone who metes out their love probably isn't someone you want to have a relationship with.
Another word often used interchangeably with mete is dole, though there are slight differences in meaning: dole suggests a more lavish, unthinking form of activity than the more stingy and controlled mete, and while some nice things (like compassion or love) can be "doled out," it's very rare that anything pleasant or happy is "meted out."
Definitions of mete
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a line that indicates a boundary
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synonyms:
border, borderline, boundary line, delimitation
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examples:
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Green Line
the border marking the boundaries of the land that Israel won in its 1948 war of independence
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Line of Control
a 450-mile line that is supposed to indicate the boundary between the part of Kashmir controlled by India and the part controlled by Pakistan
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types:
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circuit, circumference
the boundary line encompassing an area or object
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fence line
a boundary line created by a fence
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property line
the boundary line between two pieces of property
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state boundary, state line
the boundary between two states
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Green Line
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administer or bestow, as in small portions
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synonyms:
administer, allot, deal, deal out, dish out, dispense, distribute, dole, dole out, lot, mete out, parcel out, shell out
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types:
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allot, assign, portion
give out
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reallot
allot again
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deal
distribute cards to the players in a game
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apply, give
give or convey physically
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allow, appropriate, earmark, reserve, set aside
give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause
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allocate, apportion
distribute according to a plan or set apart for a special purpose
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misdeal
deal cards wrongly
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tread
apply (the tread) to a tire
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administer
perform (a church sacrament) ritually
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type of:
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give
transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘mete'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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