metro

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛtɹəʊ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛtɹoʊ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛtɹəʊ

Etymology 1

From French métro, clipping of métropolitain (from Ancient Greek μήτηρ (mḗtēr, “mother”) + πόλις (pólis, “city”)), as in the Chemin de fer métropolitain, an early name for the Paris Métro. This name was a direct translation of "Metropolitan Railway", which was the original name of the earliest part of the London Underground, constructed in 1863.

Alternative forms

• métro

Noun

metro (plural metros)

1. (general) A rapid transit rail transport system, or a train in such systems, generally underground and serving a metropolitan area.

   Synonyms: (US, Canada, Scotland, South Africa) subway, (London) underground, underground railway, (London slang) Tube, tube

   • 2000, Frederick Parkins, The NATO Opposition, →ISBN, page 27:

     Recalling that Davide Lungo returned the van at the airport, Pizo descended the nearby stairs to the underground metro, and boarded the next metro stopping there.

   • 2014, Lily Sergueiew, I Worked Alone: Diary of a Double Agent in World War II Europe, →ISBN:

     I hurry to the underground. ... I am waiting for the next metro; I'll take it.

   • 2017, Pam Taylor, 399 Days: Our European Escapade, →ISBN:

     What we entered into here was well lit and had clean silver curvy walls that ended in nice automatic elevators that took you underground. The walls are not infested with graffiti and advertisements; they were clean and shiny. We waited on nice benches until the metro arrived.

2. (less common) An urban rapid transit rail transport system, normally with lighter track and light trains (i.e. an S-Bahn or similar), or a train in such systems.
   • 2006, C. A. Brebbia, V. Dolezel, Urban Transport XII: Urban Transport and the Environment in the 21st Century, page 227:

     Informs how long the passenger has to wait for the next metro

   • 2008, Brandon Wilson, Along the Templar Trail: Seven Million Steps for Peace, →ISBN, page 75:

     With the weather clear and warm for a change, I decided to catch the next metro to the outskirts of town by myself.

   • 2015, Pratyush Sinha, Love in Metro: Story of Love and Ego, →ISBN:

     I boarded the Yellow Line Metro, beaming with confidence. I got down at Rajiv Chowk to continue my journey towards Noida City Centre (NCC). The next metro arrived.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Clipping of metropolitan.

Noun

metro (plural metros)

1. A metropolitan area.
   • 2019 August 12, Derek Thompson, “America's Hot New Job Is Being a Rich Person's Servant”, in The Atlantic‎:

     In an age of persistently high inequality, work in high-cost metros catering to the whims of the wealthy—grooming them, stretching them, feeding them, driving them—has become one of the fastest-growing industries.

Adjective

metro (comparative more metro, superlative most metro)

1. metropolitan

Derived terms

• Metro Vancouver

Related terms

• metrosexual

Anagrams

• Moret, Tomer, Tormé

Aragonese

Noun

metro m

1. metre

Catalan

Etymology

Clipping of metropolità.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

Noun

metro m (plural metros)

1. metro (train)

Further reading

• “metro” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Crimean Tatar

Noun

metro

1. metro, underground railway

Declension

References

• Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎, Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

metro n

1. metro, subway (underground railway)

Declension

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French métro, from métropolitain in chemin de fer métropolitain.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmeː.troː/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: me‧tro

Noun

metro m (plural metro's, diminutive metrootje n)

1. An underground railway or underground-railway system, a subway, a metro.
2. An underground-railway train.

Derived terms

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -etro
• Hyphenation: me‧tro

Noun

metro (accusative singular metron, plural metroj, accusative plural metrojn)

1. metre (unit of measurement)
2. (poetry) metrum

Derived terms

Finnish

Etymology

From French métro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmetro/,

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -etro
• Syllabification^(key): met‧ro

Noun

metro

1. an underground, a subway, a Tube or a metro

   Synonym: maanalainen

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• “metro”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

Anagrams

• termo-

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛtɾo/
• Rhymes: -ɛtɾo

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French mètre, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”).

Noun

metro m (plural metros)

1. (measure) meter
2. (measuring instruments) tape measure, measuring tape
3. (poetry, music) metre (the rhythm or measure in verse and musical composition)

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French métro, clipping of métropolitain.

Noun

metro m (plural metros)

1. (transport) metro

   Synonym: metropolitano

Further reading

• “metro” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Ido

Ido Wikipedia has an article on:

metro

Wikipedia ^io

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmetro/

Noun

metro (plural metri)

1. metre (unit of measurement)
2. metrum of poetry

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.tro/
• Rhymes: -ɛtro
• Hyphenation: mè‧tro

Etymology 1

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

metro

Wikipedia ^it

From Latin metrum (“a measure”), from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron).

Noun

metro m (plural metri)

1. (unit of measure) metre, meter
2. ruler, measure
3. yardstick, criterion

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

Clipping of metropolitana.

Noun

metro f (invariable)

1. subway (US), underground (UK), Tube (the London underground)

   Synonym: metrò

Anagrams

• merto, morte, termo-, torme, tremo, tremò

Latin

Noun

metrō

1. dative/ablative singular of metrum

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

metro

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Borrowed from French métro, clipping of métropolitain, from Ancient Greek μήτηρ (mḗtēr, “mother”) + πόλις (pólis, “city”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛt.rɔ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛtrɔ
• Syllabification: met‧ro

Noun

metro n

1. underground, subway, metro (underground railway)

Declension

Further reading

• metro in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• metro in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: me‧tro

Etymology 1

From French mètre, from Latin metrum, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”).

Noun

metro m (plural metros)

1. (measure) metre
   • 2007, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter e as Relíquias da Morte [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] (Harry Potter; 7), Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, →ISBN, page 9:

     [...] a poucos metros de distância [...]

     a few metres away

Coordinate terms

• vara (historical Portuguese equivalent), jarda (American equivalent)

Derived terms

• metragem

Descendants

• → Kadiwéu: meetilo

Etymology 2

From French métro, clipping of métropolitain.

Alternative forms

• metrô (Brazil)

Noun

metro m (plural metros)

1. (Portugal) underground, subway

   Synonym: metropolitano

Romanian

Noun

metro n (plural metrouri)

1. Alternative form of metrou

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

mètrō m (Cyrillic spelling мѐтро̄)

1. metro

Declension

Slovak

Etymology

Borrowed from French métro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

metro n (genitive singular metra, nominative plural metrá, genitive plural metier, declension pattern of mesto)

1. metro

Declension

Further reading

• “metro”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024

Spanish

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:

Metro (disambiguation)

Wikipedia ^es

Self-retracting metal tape measure (US customary)

A sliced tape measure

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmetɾo/

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -etɾo
• Syllabification: me‧tro

Etymology 1

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:

metro

Wikipedia ^es

Borrowed from French mètre, from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”).

Noun

metro m (plural metros)

1. (measure) meter
2. (measuring instruments) tape measure, measuring tape

   Synonym: cinta métrica

3. (measuring instruments) folding rule

   Synonym: metro plegable

4. (poetry, music) metre (the rhythm or measure in verse and musical composition)

Coordinate terms

• (unit of length): vara (historical Spanish equivalent)

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• → Tagalog: metro

Etymology 2

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:

Metro (transport)

Wikipedia ^es

Borrowed from French métro, clipping of métropolitain.

Noun

metro m (plural metros)

1. (transport) metro

   Synonym: (Argentina) subte

Further reading

• “metro”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Anagrams

• Moret, temor, termo, Torme, tremo

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish metro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmetɾo/,
• Hyphenation: met‧ro

Noun

metro (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜒᜆ᜔ᜇᜓ)

1. (units of measure) meter
2. (measuring instrument) meter

   Synonym: kontador

3. (by extension) taximeter
4. (by extension) tape measure, measuring tape

See also

Turkish

Etymology 1

From French métro.

Noun

metro (definite accusative metroyu, plural metrolar)

1. subway

Etymology 2

From Italian metro.

Noun

metro (definite accusative metroyu, plural metrolar)

1. meter, metre

References

• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “metro”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Avery, Robert et al., editors (2013), The Redhouse Dictionary Turkish/Ottoman English, 21st edition, Istanbul: Sev Yayıncılık, →ISBN

Veps

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

metro

1. metro (underground railway)

Inflection

References

• Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “метро”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎, Petrozavodsk: Periodika