- measure
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 official action to deal with a problemADJECTIVE▪ appropriate, effective, necessary, practical▪
We urge you to adopt all necessary measures to guarantee people's safety.
▪ key▪ extraordinary, special▪We had to resort to extraordinary measures to find employees.
▪ simple▪ desperate, draconian, drastic, extreme, harsh, radical, repressive, strong, tough▪ emergency, urgent (esp. BrE)▪ interim, short-term, stopgap, temporary▪ additional▪ defensive, precautionary, preventative, preventive▪ disciplinary, punitive▪ corrective, remedial▪ protective, safety, security▪New security measures were implemented to prevent further violence.
▪ conservation, control▪Development of new water sources needs to be combined with conservation measures.
▪ austerity, cost-cutting, economy (esp. BrE), efficiency▪ economic, policy▪ government… OF MEASURES▪ package (esp. BrE), raft (BrE), range (esp. BrE), series, set (esp. AmE)▪a package of measures aimed at cutting pollution
VERB + MEASURE▪ employ, implement, impose, institute, introduce, take, use▪Special measures are being taken to protect the local water supplies.
▪The authorities are using increasingly repressive measures.
▪ adopt, approve, enact, pass▪The Committee unanimously approved the measure.
▪ defeat, oppose, veto▪The mayor threatened to veto a measure passed by the city council.
▪ propose, suggestMEASURE + VERB▪ be aimed at sth, be designed to, be intended toPREPOSITION▪ measure against▪tougher measures against racism
▪ measure for▪measures for reducing delays
2 amount/quantity of sthADJECTIVE▪ broad, considerable, fair, generous, great, significant, substantial, widePREPOSITION▪ measure of▪He poured me a generous measure of gin.
PHRASES▪ in considerable, large, some, etc. measure▪His success was due in large measure to your help.
▪ in equal measure▪He's been praised and condemned in equal measure.
▪ in no small measure3 unit of size/quantityADJECTIVE▪ accurate, direct, fair, objective, precise▪This figure alone is not a fair measure of our success.
▪ broad▪GDP is considered the broadest measure of a country's economic activity.
▪ indirect▪ important▪The price of housing relative to income is an important measure of real income.
▪ quantitative, statistical▪They tried to formulate a quantitative measure of well-being.
▪ standard, standardized▪Higher scores on this standardized measure indicate greater creativity.
▪ imperial, metric▪ behavioural/behavioral (esp. AmE), performance▪Companies can use their stock price as a performance measure.
VERB + MEASURE▪ calculate, derive, obtain▪This measure is obtained by dividing corporate profits by corporate bond yields.
▪ provide▪This figure provides an objective measure of risk.
PREPOSITION▪ measure of▪an accurate measure of length
PHRASES▪ weights and measures4 sign of sthADJECTIVE▪ crude, reliable, simple, true, useful, valid▪A reliable measure of progress is whether your children can do something they couldn't do before.
▪ important▪Accepting the lower salary was seen as an important measure of commitment.
PREPOSITION▪ measure of▪Landed income was the true measure of the gentry.
5 (AmE) in music ⇨ See also ↑barADJECTIVE▪ first, opening▪The band began playing the opening measures.
VERB + MEASURE▪ hear, play, sing▪He placed his fingers on the keys and played a few measures.
PREPOSITION▪ measure of▪the first few measures of Mozart's third violin concerto
▪ per measure, to a/the measure▪a steady rhythm of four beats to a measure
◆◆◆NOTE: Weights and measures▪ … of▪I always drink gallons of water.
▪ half a … , a quarter of a …▪half a pound of ham
▪ a half/quarter hour, inch, mile, ounce, pint, pound▪a quarter pound of cheese
▪ cubic … , square …▪a maximum flow of 3 300 cubic feet a second
▪ … square▪The room is about 25 feet square.
▪ … broad, deep, high, long, tall, thick, wide▪The new dock was 230 m long and 92 m wide.
▪ … bigger, cooler, faster, heavier, lighter, slower▪The climate was several degrees warmer than it is now.
▪ about … , approximately … , around …▪1 kilogram = approx. 2.2 pounds
▪ be … , cover … , measure … , span … , stretch (for) … (used with measures of distance and area)▪The National Park covers 3 000 acres.
▪The sandy beach stretches for over four miles.
▪ be … , weigh … (used with measures of weight)▪She weighed over 200 pounds.
▪ be … , last … , take … (used with measures of time)▪It takes approximately 365 and a quarter days for the earth to revolve around the sun.
▪ in a …▪How many inches are there in a foot?
▪ in …▪We were asked to estimate the temperature of the room in degrees centigrade.
▪ to a/the …▪My car does 25 miles to the gallon.
▪ a … , per …▪They're $4.50 a dozen.
▪ten ounces of platinum per ton of ore
▪ by the …▪Apples are sold by the kilogram.
▪ of …▪The path will be built to a width of two and a half feet.
▪ … in area, length, size, volume, weight▪Killer whales are up to 30 feet in length.
▪ … by …▪a huge room measuring 50 m by 18 m
▪ to the nearest …▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}Give your answer to the nearest mile.
verb1 find the size of sthADVERB▪ accurately, exactly, precisely, reliably▪ empirically, objectively, quantitatively▪Education policy places too much emphasis on things that can be quantitatively measured.
▪ carefully▪ directly▪Any type of data that could not be directly measured was rejected.
▪ indirectly▪ easily▪ experimentally▪ up▪We need to measure up the room for a new carpet.
VERB + MEASURE▪ be able to, can▪You can now measure its length more accurately.
▪ be easy to, be possible to▪ be difficult to, be hard to, be impossible toPREPOSITION▪ for▪She's being measured for her wedding outfit.
▪ in▪Cloth is measured in yards.
2 judge the importance/value/effect of sthADVERB▪ easily▪The policy's impact cannot be easily measured.
▪ effectively▪ objectivelyVERB + MEASURE▪ can▪ be easy to, be possible to▪ be difficult to, be hard to, be impossible to▪It is hard to measure the benefits to society of the system.
▪ be used to▪the criteria that are used to measure performance
PREPOSITION▪ according to▪Is it really possible to measure the skills of such jobs according to objective standards?
▪ against▪The school's performance is measured against a strict set of criteria.
▪ by▪The policy's effectiveness cannot be measured by numbers alone.
▪ in terms of▪Success cannot be measured merely in terms of the size of your salary.
PHRASES▪ a method of measuring sth, a way of measuring sthMeasure is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑earthquake, ↑gauge, ↑index, ↑instrument, ↑plot, ↑researcher, ↑room, ↑test, ↑thermometerMeasure is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ability, ↑achievement, ↑activity, ↑angle, ↑blood pressure, ↑change, ↑circumference, ↑composition, ↑density, ↑diameter, ↑dimension, ↑distance, ↑duration, ↑effect, ↑effectiveness, ↑efficiency, ↑emission, ↑extent, ↑fitness, ↑flow, ↑frequency, ↑height, ↑impact, ↑incidence, ↑index, ↑intensity, ↑length, ↑level, ↑magnitude, ↑mass, ↑movement, ↑number, ↑outcome, ↑percentage, ↑performance, ↑productivity, ↑progress, ↑quality, ↑radiation, ↑radioactivity, ↑rainfall, ↑rate, ↑reliability, ↑risk, ↑size, ↑speed, ↑strength, ↑success, ↑temperature, ↑usage, ↑value, ↑voltage, ↑volume, ↑width, ↑worth
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
