mete out
phrasal verb
meted out; meting out; metes out
: to give (something) to the people who one decides should get it : to give out or distribute (something)
We're trying to be fair in meting out rewards and punishments.
—usually used to refer to something unpleasant (such as punishment)Huge fines were meted out as punishment.
The king meted out justice as he saw fit.
Examples of mete out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Its return ups the ante on the sinister goings while strategically meting out juicy tidbits and social commentary surrounding a seemingly evil corporation.
—
Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2025
The result, unfortunately, involves meting out meaning in logistical fashion.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 25 Jan. 2025
The sentencing phase of Smith’s and other cases were first ordered re-tried in 2016 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Florida’s death sentence law unconstitutional and said a unanimous jury was required before meting out a death penalty sentence.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
In the 1938 classic The Adventures of Robin Hood, Robin Hood is a happy iconoclast, meting out his form of social and political justice with the cheerful irreverence and deft strokes of Errol Flynn, cinema’s premier swashbuckler.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2024
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Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2025
The result, unfortunately, involves meting out meaning in logistical fashion.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 25 Jan. 2025
The sentencing phase of Smith’s and other cases were first ordered re-tried in 2016 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Florida’s death sentence law unconstitutional and said a unanimous jury was required before meting out a death penalty sentence.
—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
In the 1938 classic The Adventures of Robin Hood, Robin Hood is a happy iconoclast, meting out his form of social and political justice with the cheerful irreverence and deft strokes of Errol Flynn, cinema’s premier swashbuckler.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mete out
Dictionary Entries Near mete out
Cite this Entry
“Mete out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mete%20out. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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