1 ADJ A messy person or activity makes things dirty or untidy. □ She was a good, if messy, cook. □ As the work tends to be a bit messy, you'll need to wear old clothes. ● messi|ly ADV [usu ADV with v, oft ADV adj] □ She wrote it hastily and messily on a scrap of paper.
2 ADJ Something that is messy is dirty or untidy. □ Don't worry if this first coat of paint looks messy.
3 ADJ If you describe a situation as messy , you are emphasizing that it is confused or complicated, and therefore unsatisfactory. □ John had been through a messy divorce himself.
met /me t/ Met is the past tense and past participle of meet .
meta|bol|ic /me təbɒ l I k/ ADJ [ADJ n] Metabolic means relating to a person's or animal's metabolism. □ …people who have inherited a low metabolic rate.
me|tabo|lism /m I tæ bəl I zəm/ (metabolisms ) N‑VAR [oft with poss] Your metabolism is the way that chemical processes in your body cause food to be used in an efficient way, for example to make new cells and to give you energy.
me|tabo|lize /m I tæ bəla I z/ (metabolizes , metabolizing , metabolized ) in BRIT, also use metabolise VERB When you metabolize a substance, it is affected by chemical processes in your body so that, for example, it is broken down, absorbed, and used. [TECHNICAL ] □ [V n] Diabetics cannot metabolise glucose properly.
met|al ◆◇◇ /me t ə l/ (metals )
1 N‑VAR Metal is a hard substance such as iron, steel, gold, or lead. □ …pieces of furniture in wood, metal and glass. □ He hit his head against a metal bar.
2 → see also base metal
meta|lan|guage /me təlæŋgw I dʒ/ (metalanguages ) also meta-language N‑VAR In linguistics, the words and expressions that people use to describe or refer to language can be called metalanguage . [TECHNICAL ]
met|alled /me t ə ld/ ADJ [ADJ n] A metalled road has a level surface made of small pieces of stone; used especially of country roads and tracks. [mainly BRIT ]
me|tal|lic /mətæ l I k/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A metallic sound is like the sound of one piece of metal hitting another. □ There was a metallic click and the gates swung open.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Metallic paint or colours shine like metal. □ He had painted all the wood with metallic silver paint.
3 ADJ Something that tastes metallic has a bitter unpleasant taste. □ There was a metallic taste at the back of his throat.
4 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Metallic means consisting entirely or partly of metal. □ Even the smallest metallic object is immediately confiscated.
met|al|lur|gist /metæ lə r dʒ I st, [AM ] me təlɜːrdʒ I st/ (metallurgists ) N‑COUNT A metallurgist is an expert in metallurgy.
met|al|lur|gy /metæ lə r dʒi, [AM ] me təlɜː r dʒi/ N‑UNCOUNT Metallurgy is the scientific study of the properties and uses of metals.
metal|work /me t ə lwɜː r k/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Metalwork is the activity of making objects out of metal in a skilful way. □ He was a craftsman in metalwork from Dresden.
2 N‑UNCOUNT The metalwork is the metal part of something. □ Rust and flaking paint mean the metalwork is in poor condition.
met|a|morph|ic /me təmɔː r f I k/ ADJ Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have had their original structure changed by pressure and heat. [TECHNICAL ]
meta|mor|phose /me təmɔː r foʊz/ (metamorphoses , metamorphosing , metamorphosed )
1 VERB To metamorphose or be metamorphosed means to develop and change into something completely different. [FORMAL ] □ [V + into/from ] …hysterical laughter which gradually metamorphoses into convulsive sobs. □ [V ] The tadpoles metamorphose and emerge onto land. □ [be V -ed] She had been metamorphosed by the war. [Also V n]
2 → see also metamorphosis
meta|mor|pho|sis /me təmɔː r fəs I s/ (metamorphoses ) N‑VAR When a metamorphosis occurs, a person or thing develops and changes into something completely different. [FORMAL ] □ …his metamorphosis from a republican to a democrat.
meta|phor /me təfɔːr/ (metaphors )
1 N‑VAR A metaphor is an imaginative way of describing something by referring to something else which is the same in a particular way. For example, if you want to say that someone is very shy and frightened of things, you might say that they are a mouse. □ …the avoidance of 'violent expressions and metaphors' like 'kill two birds with one stone'. □ …the writer's use of metaphor.
2 N‑VAR If one thing is a metaphor for another, it is intended or regarded as a symbol of it. □ [+ for ] The divided family remains a powerful metaphor for a society tearing itself apart.
3 PHRASE If you mix your metaphors , you use two different metaphors. People do this accidentally, or sometimes deliberately as a joke. □ To mix metaphors, she's stabbed him in the back and he's shot himself in the foot.
meta|phori|cal /me təfɒ r I k ə l, [AM ] -fɔː r-/ ADJ You use the word metaphorical to indicate that you are not using words with their ordinary meaning, but are describing something by means of an image or symbol. □ It turns out Levy is talking in metaphorical terms. ● meta|phori|cal|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ You're speaking metaphorically, I hope.
meta|physi|cal /me təf I z I k ə l/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Metaphysical means relating to metaphysics. □ …metaphysical questions like personal responsibility for violence.