English · Word Candidate

metric

/ˈmɛt.ɹɪk/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: metrics · metricking · metricked

Sense 1

Meaning · English

Of or relating to the metric system of measurement.

Adjective

Examples

But the red planet has been a graveyard for Russian, European and American missions, including an embarrassing 1999 NASA fail caused when a computer, running on metric numbers, and engineers, dealing in nonmetric numbers, got their signals crossed.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

Of or relating to measurement by meters or by metrics.

Adjective

Examples

This model is a basic framework for organizations to assess their current state and plan improvements in their Organizational resilience metric capabilities. Each level builds on the capabilities established in previous levels, aiming for continuous improvement and integration of resilience metrics

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 3

Meaning · English

A way to measure something; a means of deriving a quantitative measurement or approximation for otherwise qualitative phenomena (especially used in engineering).

Noun

Examples

What metric should be used for performance evaluation?

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 4

Meaning · English

A function which satisfies a particular set of formal conditions, created to generalize the notion of the distance between two points. Formally, a real-valued function d on M×M, where M is a set, is called a metric if (1) d(x,y)=0 if and only if x=y, (2) d(x,y)=d(y,x) for all pairs (x,y), and (3) d obeys the triangle inequality.

Noun

Examples

As we shall see, these metrics are constructed from a Green function.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “metric” mean?

Of or relating to the metric system of measurement.

Is “metric” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.