mete out

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

During one meeting, Hoffman remembers discussing whether AI could eventually be trusted to mete out criminal sentencing. —Elias Wachtel, The Atlantic, 25 Apr. 2026

Swalwell’s downfall might even show that, if old-school journalism can still mete out consequences for bad behavior, new media can sometimes accelerate this process, rather than dilute it. —Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2026

Neither did Banegas, who was whisked away by deputies to be fingerprinted after his sentence was meted out. —Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026

Justice has been meted out to one abusive mother. —Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for mete out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout