pentameter

[ pen-tam-i-ter ]

noun

1. a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet.
2. Also called elegiac pentameter. Classical Prosody. a verse consisting of two dactyls, one long syllable, two more dactyls, and another long syllable.
3. unrhymed verse of five iambic feet; heroic verse.

adjective

1. consisting of five metrical feet.

pentameter

/ pɛnˈtæmɪtə /

noun

1. a verse line consisting of five metrical feet
2. (in classical prosody) a verse line consisting of two dactyls, one stressed syllable, two dactyls, and a final stressed syllable

adjective

1. designating a verse line consisting of five metrical feet

Other Words From

• pen·tame·trist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pentameter¹

1540–50; < Latin pentametrus < Greek pentámetros. See penta-, meter ²

Example Sentences

"This is the biggest mountain because I was always worried about the iambic pentameter, about blank verse, and not being trained as an actor," he says.

From BBC

The pair haven't been afraid to experiment over the years, having produced an entirely silent episode, one all in iambic pentameter and now, in the final series, an episode filmed from a doorbell camera.

From BBC

“It came out with this terrific poem written in iambic pentameter,” Preston recalled.

From Los Angeles Times

In supple pentameter, Shakespeare explores the difference between the book learning the young men meant to engage in and the learning that emerges, despite their plans, from “the prompting eyes of beauty’s tutors.”

From New York Times

But LLMs have also managed to ace the bar exam, explain the Higgs boson in iambic pentameter, and make an attempt to break up their users’ marriage.

From Scientific American