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caliber

cal·i·ber [ ˈka-lə-bər]

caliber

noun

[ˈka-lə-bər]

variants: or calibre

Definition of caliber

1a : degree of mental capacity or moral quality
//teachers of high caliber

b : degree of excellence or importance
//the caliber of instruction

2a : the diameter of a bullet or other projectile

b : the diameter of a bore of a gun usually expressed in hundredths or thousandths of an inch and typically written as a decimal fraction
//.32 caliber

3 : the diameter of a round or cylindrical body
especially : the internal diameter of a hollow cylinder

Synonyms & Antonyms for dainty

Synonyms: Synonyms

Recent Examples on the Web

//The Buckeyes’ own resume, dismissed by some for its lack of upper-division SEC-caliber victories, contains wins over No.
— Nathan Baird, cleveland, "Why LSU deserves No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and why Ohio State needs help," 13 Nov. 2019
//The suspect had several rifles and a large amount of ammunition, including a number of large-caliber weapons, the agency said in a statement posted to its official Facebook page.
— Madeline Holcombe And Holly Yan, CNN, "A suspect has been arrested in the massacre of a family from a Mormon community in Mexico," 6 Nov. 2019
//In the same vehicle, police found several large-caliber guns, including a .50-caliber Barrett rifle and more than 9,000 rounds of ammunition.
— Daniel Gonzalez, azcentral, "Mexico ambush: Families may have been mistaken by gunmen for rival group," 6 Nov. 2019
//In the case of the T-72, the kit adds a fake 125-millimeter main gun and .50 caliber machine gun—both of which work with the Army’s laser training system.
— Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Russian Tanks in Idaho? National Guard Turns to Hollywood to Simulate T-72s," 4 Nov. 2019
//Prediction Maple Leafs 5, Flyers 3 The MAPLE LEAFS (-134) have their All-Star caliber netminder in between the pipes against a Flyers side (+110) playing on the second end of a back-to-back set.
— Chris Wassel, USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire, "Maple Leafs-Flyers odds: Toronto favored in Philly," 2 Nov. 2019
//Nevertheless, working with Charlie Haden was equally bucket-list caliber for Frisell.
— Ron Hart, Billboard, "Bill Frisell on Working With the Late Ginger Baker: 'It Was Total Generosity'," 11 Oct. 2019
//The portable, wire-free Oculus Quest in particular felt revelatory, an almost desktop-caliber experience without the need for a desktop, playable at a moment’s notice.
— Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "Oculus Connect 6: Significant Oculus Quest upgrades could render the Rift obsolete," 25 Sep. 2019
//North Korea launched what South Korea called two short-range ballistic missiles on Tuesday, part of a series of tests of short-range ballistic missiles and large-caliber multiple rocket launchers that began late last month.
— New York Times, "North Korea Launches Projectiles Despite ‘Beautiful Letter’ from Kim Jong-un to Trump," 9 Aug. 2019

First Known Use of caliber

1588, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

History and Etymology for caliber

borrowed from Middle French calibre "internal diameter of a cylindrical object, displacement of a gun," borrowed (by uncertain mediation) from Arabic qālab, qālib "mold for casting metal, shoemaker's last," borrowed from Greek kalapod-, kalápous, kalópous "shoemaker's last," from kâla (plural) "wood, timber" (of uncertain origin) + -a- (perhaps after tetrápous "four-footed") or -o- -o- + poús "foot" — more at foot entry 1