meta

Adjective etymology 1, adjective sense 1 is a back-formation from meta- (prefix).

Adjective etymology 1, adjective sense 2 is derived from noun etymology 1, noun sense 1.

The noun senses are clippings of various terms beginning with meta (prefix).

Folk etymology for noun etymology 1, noun sense 1 also suggests an acronym for most effective/efficient tactic available.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛtə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛtə/, [ˈmɛɾə]
• Rhymes: -ɛtə

meta (plural metas)

2. (video games) Clipping of metagame.

   I don't think the character will be part of the meta even with the recent buffs.

   • 2022 November 17, Carver Fisher, “League of Legends preseason 13 has made tanks unkillable”, in Dexerto‎^[2], archived from the original on 14 December 2024:

     The phrase, “tank meta”, is one that carries a lot of weight when it comes to MOBAs. These metas are generally characterized by tanky, unkillable behemoths dominating the meta and leaving any character that isn’t focused around raw DPS in the dust.

   1. (by extension, countable, Internet slang) An informal but widely adopted practice in a given field; a de facto standard.

      Each video sharing platform's community has a meta on how long videos should be.

      • 2023 October 27, 29:51 from the start, in Hard Fork‎^[3] (podcast), spoken by Kevin Roose, The New York Times:

        I remember interviewing PewDiePie a few years ago, and he was sort of telling me about this time where it was like edgy videos were being really rewarded, so everyone was kind of chasing like edgy humor and edgy memes, and sort of trying to figure out where the edge was. And then YouTube changed the meta, and suddenly, it wasn't good to be edgy, you weren't going to make as much money or get as many views.

3. (informal) Clipping of metaoidioplasty.
4. (informal) Clipping of metamour.
5. (fandom slang) Clipping of metanalysis: metanalysis or metacommentary focused on media, fandom, or related topics, typically presented as an essay or dialogue.
   • 2014, Jay Schnorrer, "Adding to Narration and The Johnlock Conspiracy – The Meaning of Digital Media for BBC's Sherlock", paper submitted to Freie Universität Berlin (link):

     Many metas on Tumblr incorporate GIFs of scenes they are referencing as well as screencaps.

   • 2018, Sarah Leiser, "Throne of Fans: Examining the Roles of Feminism, Platform and Community in an Online Fandom", thesis submitted to the University of Denver, page 84:

     Fans create their own stories and media representation through fan fiction. They challenge the feminism in the [Sarah J. Maas] books through discussions and metas.

   • 2020, Elizabeth Minkel, quoted in "Under the Radar: A Conversation about Tumblr in the Public Sphere", in A Tumblr Book: Platform and Cultures (eds. Allison McCracken, Alexander Cho, Louisa Stein, and Indira Neill Hoch), page 64:

     It wasn’t until I dug into post-season-3 Sherlock meta in January of 2014 that I started to encounter "the Discourse."

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:meta.

meta (comparative more meta, superlative most meta)

2. (informal) Self-referential; structured analogously (structured by relationships), but at a higher level.

   Suppose you have a genie that grants you three wishes. If you wish for infinite wishes, that is a meta wish.

   Suppose you have a homework task where you need to edit a wiki page and upload a screenshot of this entry underneath the word meta as an example of what meta is.

   • 2002, Robert C. Neville, Religion in Late Modernity‎^[4], →ISBN, page 31:

     […] in finessing obligations you fail a "meta" kind of obligation.

   • 2006, Brendan Vaughan, What Would MacGyver Do?‎^[5], →ISBN, page 186:

     Besides, I can just hear Vaughan: "Very funny, Stacey, very Charlie Kaufman-esque, very meta, very '97. I can't use it."

   • 2021 March 1, Carol Midgley, “McDonald & Dodds review – cheerful escapism and filth-free distraction”, in The Times‎^[6]:

     McDonald & Dodds is back, with episode one so deliberately hammy and meta that, technically, it should have been a complete horlicks. In one scene, when they were all hanging on to the balloon ropes, Mr Bean-like, to stop Jason Watkins flying away, it sort of was.

4. (video games) Prominent in the metagame; effective and frequently used in competitive gameplay.

   I don't think the character will be meta even with the recent buffs.

• transcendental
• self-aware

From Latin mēta.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmiːtə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmiːtə/, [ˈmiːɾə]
• Rhymes: -iːtə

meta (plural metas or metae)

1. Boundary marker.
2. (historical) Either of the conical columns at each end of an Ancient Roman circus.

• maté, team, meat, mate, Tame, ATEM, AEMT, Atem, -mate, tame, Team, Tema

See Bangi bweta.

meta

1. waterfalls

meta inan

1. heap

Learned borrowing from Latin mēta.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈmɛ.tə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈme.ta]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

meta f (plural metes)

1. (historical) meta
2. (sports) finish line
3. (sports) goal, goalpost

   Synonym: porteria

4. goal, aim, objective

   Synonyms: fi, objectiu

• “meta”, 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

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɛta]
• Rhymes: -ɛta
• Hyphenation: me‧ta

Derived from Latin mēta.^[1]

meta f

1. frontier, goal, objective, ambition

   Synonym: cíl

2. (softball, baseball) base

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

meta

1. masculine singular present transgressive of mést

• “meta”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “meta”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

From Old Norse meta, from Proto-Germanic *metaną, from Proto-Indo-European *med-.

meta (third person singular past indicative metti or metaði, third person plural past indicative mett or metað, supine mett or metað)

1. to measure, esteem, consider

Clipping of metamfetamiini.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmetɑ/, [ˈme̞t̪ɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -etɑ
• Syllabification^(key): me‧ta
• Hyphenation^(key): me‧ta

meta (colloquial)

1. meth, methamphetamine

meta

1. inflection of meter:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Orthographic borrowing from English meta, probably also affected by terms like metafizika, metakommunikáció etc.

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɛtɒ]
• Hyphenation: me‧ta

meta (comparative metább, superlative legmetább)

1. (informal) meta (self-referential)

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛːta/

  Rhymes: -ɛːta

From Old Norse meta, from Proto-Germanic *metaną.

meta (strong verb, third-person singular past indicative mat, third-person plural past indicative mátu, supine metið)

1. to measure
2. to assess
3. to appreciate, to esteem, to consider to be of worth

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

meta

1. indefinite genitive plural of met

• menta

From Sanskrit मत्त (matta, “mad, drunken”). Compare to Balinese mata (“furious”).

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /məˈta/ [məˈt̪a]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: me‧ta

mêta (comparative lebih meta, superlative paling meta)

1. (obsolete) mad

   Synonym: marah

2. (obsolete) drunken

   Synonym: mabuk

• “meta”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Learned borrowing from Latin mēta. Doublet of meda.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.ta/
• Rhymes: -ɛta
• Hyphenation: mè‧ta

meta f (plural mete)

1. destination

   Synonyms: arrivo, destinazione

2. (figurative) aim, goal, end

   Synonyms: scopo, intenzione, fine

3. (sports) a score
   1. (rugby) try
   2. (soccer) goal
   3. (ultimate frisbee) point
4. (Ancient Rome) meta (either of the conical columns at each end of a Roman circus)

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈme.ta/
• Rhymes: -eta
• Hyphenation: mé‧ta

meta f (plural mete)

1. pile of straw

   Synonym: mucchio

2. haystack
3. dung (of a farm animal)

   Synonym: sterco

• → Serbo-Croatian: méta

Clipping of metaldeide.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.ta/
• Rhymes: -ɛta
• Hyphenation: mè‧ta

meta m (invariable)

1. (organic chemistry) metaldehyde

• mate, matè, team, tema

• mata

meta

1. eye

From Proto-Italic *mētā, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”), whence mētior, with which compare the derived mētor.

Cognate with Ancient Greek μῆτις (mêtis), μέτρον (métron), μέτριος (métrios), Old Church Slavonic мѣра (měra); compare also Hungarian mér, Russian ме́ра (méra), Serbo-Croatian mera and mjera, English meal.

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈmeː.ta]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈmɛː.ta]
• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈmeː.taː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈmɛː.ta]

mēta f (genitive mētae); first declension

1. cone, pyramid
2. turning point, winning post (pillar at each end of the Circus route)
3. boundary limit
4. (figuratively) goal, end, limit, turning point
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.278:

     “Hīs ego nec mētās rērum nec tempora pōnō.”

     “For them, I set no turning points of history, nor time limits.”
     (Jupiter reassures Venus that he has granted limitless prospects to the Roman people.)

First-declension noun.

• mētor

• mētior

meta

1. third-person singular/plural past indicative of mest

Borrowed from Bangi meta.

meta

1. waterfall

• IPA^(key): [ˈmʲæːt̪ɐ]

mẽta

1. third-person singular present of mesti
2. third-person plural present of mesti

• mita (dialectal)

Inherited from Arabic مَتَى (matā).

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.ta/

• Audio (Gozo):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛta

meta

1. when

meta

1. when; as

• IPA^(key): /ˈme.tɑ/

meta

1. genitive plural of mete

From Proto-Germanic *metaną (“to measure”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med-.

meta (singular past indicative mat, plural past indicative mátu, past participle metinn)

1. (transitive) to estimate, value
2. (reflexive, til e-s) to be reckoned as, counted for

• mjǫtuðr
• mætr

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “meta”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Learned borrowing from Latin mēta.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.ta/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛta
• Syllabification: me‧ta
• Homophone: meta-

meta f

1. (sports) finish line, winning post

   Był tak wyczerpany, że ledwo dobiegł do mety. ― He was so tired that he hardly reached the finish line.

2. goal, end
3. range, distance
4. (colloquial) familiar store or restaurant
5. (colloquial) a place where one can stay for a short while
6. (colloquial) a place where alcohol is illegally sold or drunk
7. (bodybuilding slang) methandrostenolone, an anabolic steroid

• → Ukrainian: мета́ (metá)

• “meta”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[7] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “meta”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[8] (in Polish)

Learned borrowing from Latin mēta (“turning spot in arena; goal”). Doublet of meda.

• Rhymes: -ɛtɐ
• Hyphenation: me‧ta

meta f (plural metas)

1. goal

   Synonym: objetivo

2. target

   Synonym: alvo

Borrowed from English meta.

• Rhymes: -ɛtɐ
• Hyphenation: me‧ta

meta m (uncountable)

1. (video games) meta
   • 2020, “Qual o Novo meta do Fortnite – Temporada 6”, in Escola dos Games‎^[9], archived from the original on 14 May 2021:

     Quando falamos de inventário, alguns itens continuam muito fortes e flexíveis no meta, como por exemplo os arpões. Como as snipers saíram do meta, os jogadores tiveram que trocar um dos utilitários para conseguir tags durante o meio do jogo.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• mêta (pre-reform spelling)

• Rhymes: -etɐ
• Hyphenation: me‧ta

meta

2. inflection of meter:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

• “meta”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “meta”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from Italian meta, from Latin mēta.

• IPA^(key): /měːta/
• Hyphenation: me‧ta

méta f (Cyrillic spelling ме́та)

1. target

• “meta”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *męta.

• IPA^(key): /méːta/

mẹ̑ta f

1. mint (plant)

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Feminine, a-stem
nom. sing.	méta
gen. sing.	méte
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	méta	méti	méte
genitive (rodȋlnik)	méte	mét	mét
dative (dajȃlnik)	méti	métama	métam
accusative (tožȋlnik)	méto	méti	méte
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	méti	métah	métah
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	méto	métama	métami

• “meta”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026

• IPA^(key): /ˈmeta/ [ˈme.t̪a]
• Rhymes: -eta
• Syllabification: me‧ta

Borrowed from Latin meta (“turning spot in arena; goal”). Doublet of meda.

meta f (plural metas)

2. goal, target

   Synonym: objetivo

Clipping of metanfetamina.

meta f (plural metas)

1. (slang) meth

   Coordinate terms: hierba, coca

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

meta

1. inflection of meter:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

• “meta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

meta class IX (plural meta class X)

1. alternative form of mita

Probably inherited from Proto-Germanic *maitaną.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmeːˌta/

meta (present metar, preterite metade, supine metat, imperative meta)

1. to angle for fish

• mete
• metare
• metspö

• bottennapp

• “meta”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “meta”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “meta”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• meta in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

• tame, team, tema

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish متاع (mataʿ, “any organ or article of enjoyment, possession, or commerce”),^[1] from Arabic مَتَاع (matāʕ, “property, possessions”).^[2]

• IPA^(key): /meˈtaː/
• Hyphenation: me‧ta

meta (definite accusative metayı, plural metalar)

1. commercial goods, merchandise

   Synonyms: mal, mülk

   meta fetişizmi ― commodity fetishism

2. (business) capital

   Synonyms: sermaye, anapara

• “meta”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007), “meta²”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 3172