metadata
gb/mˈɛtədətə/ us/mˈɛtədətə/
C1
English
~ 8400
Senses
0 senses
Noun
technical
C1
entity
1
Information that describes other data
Information that tells you about other data, for example when it was made, where it is from, or how it is stored.
Usage pattern:
[someone] uses metadata about [something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse ‘metadata’ with the main information itself. Metadata is information ABOUT other data, not the data’s content. Another mistake is treating ‘metadata’ as countable (e.g., saying ‘metadatas’). In normal use, ‘metadata’ is uncountable: we say ‘some metadata’, ‘a piece of metadata’, or ‘metadata fields’.
Synonyms
descriptive data (Less technical and more explanatory; often used informally instead of the precise technical term.)
|
data attributes (Common in databases and programming; stresses specific properties stored about the data.)
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data about data (Informal explanatory phrase, often used to define ‘metadata’ rather than as a replacement in expert writing.)
Antonyms
content (‘Content’ is the main data itself (text, image, audio, etc.), not the information that describes it.)
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raw data (Raw data is the original unprocessed information, while metadata is information that describes or organizes that data.)
Collocations
file metadata
|image metadata
|user metadata
|metadata fields
|metadata schema
|metadata standards
Themes
technology
|computing
|information
|science
Examples
- The photo’s metadata shows the date, time, and GPS location where it was taken.
- Web developers use metadata in HTML to help search engines understand a page.
- The database stores metadata about each record, including who created it and when it was last updated.
- Before sharing the document, she removed the metadata so her name and edit history would not be visible.
- Libraries use standardized metadata so that books and articles can be easily found in online catalogs.
Learner examples
- Your phone saves metadata with every picture you take.
- This file’s metadata tells us who made it and when.
- We use metadata to search for songs by artist and year.
- The app reads the video metadata to show the length of the clip.
- He deleted the metadata to keep his personal information private.
Grammar
Dictionary form
metadata
IPA
GB/mˈɛtədətə/
US/mˈɛtədətə/
Syllables & stress
metadata (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (metadata)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: metadata
- Plural: metadatas
Word family
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.