metro

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

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (Indic) IPA^(key): /meʈˈroː/
• Rhymes: -ɛtɹəʊ

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.

• métro

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.

Clipping of metropolitan.

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^[1], archived from the original on 26 August 2019:

     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. […] Relationships between the classes, once mediated through the household, are now managed through an app that serves a large metro area.

metro (comparative more metro, superlative most metro)

1. metropolitan

• Metro Vancouver

• flat metro
• metrosexual

• Moret, rot me, Termo, Tormé, Tomer

metro m

1. metre

Clipping of metropolità.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈmɛ.tɾu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈmɛ.tɾo]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈme.tɾo]

metro m (plural metros)

1. metro (train)

• “metro”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

metro

1. metro, underground railway

• Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[2], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɛtro]

metro n

1. metro, subway (underground railway)

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈmeː.troː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: me‧tro

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈmetro/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -etro
• Hyphenation: me‧tro

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

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

From French métro.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmetro/, [ˈme̞t̪ro̞]

• Audio:

  (file)

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

metro

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

   Synonym: maanalainen

• “metro”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[3] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023

• termo-

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛtɾo/ [ˈmɛ.t̪ɾʊ]
• Rhymes: -ɛtɾo

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

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)

Borrowed from French métro, clipping of métropolitain.

metro m (plural metros)

1. (transport) metro

   Synonym: metropolitano

• “metro”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

• IPA^(key): /ˈmetro/

metro (plural metri)

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

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

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

metro m (plural metri)

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

Clipping of metropolitana.

metro f (invariable)

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

   Synonym: metrò

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

metrō

1. dative/ablative singular of metrum

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.trɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛtrɔ
• Syllabification: me‧tro

metro n

1. underground, subway, metro (underground railway)

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

• Audio (Portugal):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: me‧tro

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

metro m (plural metros)

1. (measure) metre
   • 2007, J. K. Rowling, translated by Lia Wyler, 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 [...]

2. metre stick

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

• metragem

• → Kadiwéu: meetilo

From French métro, clipping of métropolitain.

• metrô (Brazil)

metro m (plural metros)

1. (Portugal) underground, subway

   Synonym: metropolitano

metro n (plural metrouri)

1. alternative form of metrou

mètrō m inan (Cyrillic spelling мѐтро̄)

1. metro

Borrowed from French métro.

• IPA^(key): [ˈmetrɔ]

metro n

1. metro

• “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, 2003–2025

• IPA^(key): /ˈmetɾo/ [ˈme.t̪ɾo]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -etɾo
• Syllabification: me‧tro

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

metro m (plural metros)

1. (measure) meter
   • 2025 January 22, Reuters, “Nepal aumenta a US$ 15.000 la tarifa para escalar el monte Everest”, in CNN en Español‎^[4]:

     Un permiso para escalar el monte Everest de 8.849 metros (29.032 pies) costará US$ 15.000, dijo Narayan Prasad Regmi, director general del Departamento de Turismo, anunciando un aumento del 36% en la tarifa de US$ 11.000 que ha estado vigente durante casi una década.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

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)

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

• → Tagalog: metro

Borrowed from French métro, clipping of métropolitain.

metro m (plural metros)

1. (transport) metro

   Synonym: (Argentina) subte

• “metro”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

• Moret, temor, termo, Torme, tremo

Borrowed from Spanish metro.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈmetɾo/ [ˈmɛː.t̪ɾo]
• Rhymes: -etɾo
• Syllabification: me‧tro

metro (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜒᜆ᜔ᜇᜓ)

1. meter (unit of length)
2. meter (measuring instrument)

   Synonym: kontador

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

From French métro.

metro (definite accusative metroyu, plural metrolar)

1. subway

From Italian metro.

metro (definite accusative metroyu, plural metrolar)

1. meter, metre

• 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

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

metro

1. metro (underground railway)

Inflection of metro (inflection type 1/ilo)
nominative sing.	metro
genitive sing.	metron
partitive sing.	metrod
partitive plur.	metroid
	singular	plural
nominative	metro	metrod
accusative	metron	metrod
genitive	metron	metroiden
partitive	metrod	metroid
essive-instructive	metron	metroin
translative	metroks	metroikš
inessive	metros	metroiš
elative	metrospäi	metroišpäi
illative	metroho	metroihe
adessive	metrol	metroil
ablative	metrolpäi	metroilpäi
allative	metrole	metroile
abessive	metrota	metroita
comitative	metronke	metroidenke
prolative	metrodme	metroidme
approximative I	metronno	metroidenno
approximative II	metronnoks	metroidennoks
egressive	metronnopäi	metroidennopäi
terminative I	metrohosai	metroihesai
terminative II	metrolesai	metroilesai
terminative III	metrossai	—
additive I	metrohopäi	metroihepäi
additive II	metrolepäi	metroilepäi

• Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “метро”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎^[5], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

From English metro.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [me˧˧ t͡ɕo˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [mej˧˧ ʈow˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [mej˧˧ ʈow˧˧]
• Phonetic spelling: mê trô

metro

1. metro (system or train)

   Đi thử metro Bến Thành.

   To try travelling on Ben Thanh metro.