Measure - Definition

n 1: any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal; "the
situation called for strong measures"; "the police took
steps to reduce crime" [syn: measure, step]
2: how much there is or how many there are of something that you
can quantify [syn: measure, quantity, amount]
3: a statute in draft before it becomes law; "they held a public
hearing on the bill" [syn: bill, measure]
4: the act or process of assigning numbers to phenomena
according to a rule; "the measurements were carefully done";
"his mental measurings proved remarkably accurate" [syn:
measurement, measuring, measure, mensuration]
5: a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other
things can be evaluated; "the schools comply with federal
standards"; "they set the measure for all subsequent work"
[syn: standard, criterion, measure, touchstone]
6: (prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse [syn:
meter, metre, measure, beat, cadence]
7: musical notation for a repeating pattern of musical beats;
"the orchestra omitted the last twelve bars of the song"
[syn: measure, bar]
8: measuring instrument having a sequence of marks at regular
intervals; used as a reference in making measurements [syn:
measuring stick, measure, measuring rod]
9: a container of some standard capacity that is used to obtain
fixed amounts of a substance
v 1: determine the measurements of something or somebody, take
measurements of; "Measure the length of the wall" [syn:
measure, mensurate, measure out]
2: express as a number or measure or quantity; "Can you quantify
your results?" [syn: quantify, measure]
3: have certain dimensions; "This table surfaces measures
20inches by 36 inches"
4: evaluate or estimate the nature, quality, ability, extent, or
significance of; "I will have the family jewels appraised by
a professional"; "access all the factors when taking a risk"
[syn: measure, evaluate, valuate, assess, appraise,
value]