Phrase guide

man is the measure of all things

phrase · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

phrase

Meaning 1

the doctrine that all knowledge is subjective, being derived from observations made by humans, and there can be no objective truth

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: an expression of

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

According to Plato, the phrase was coined by Greek philosopher Protagoras.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: l'home és la mesura de totes les coses — Translations
  • Chinese Mandarin: 人类是一切的测量具 — Translations
  • Danish: mennesket er alle tings mål — Translations
  • Estonian: kõigi asjade mõõt on inimene — Translations
  • Finnish: ihminen on kaiken mitta — Translations
  • French: l'homme est la mesure de toute chose — Translations
  • German: der Mensch ist das Maß aller Dinge — Translations
  • Ancient Greek: πάντων χρημάτων μέτρον ἄνθρωπος (pántōn khrēmátōn métron ánthrōpos) — Translations
  • Italian: l'uomo è misura di tutte le cose — Translations
  • Latin: homo mensura — Translations
  • Norwegian: mannesket er målstokken for alle ting — Translations
  • Polish: człowiek jest miarą wszystkiego — Translations
  • Russian: челове́к есть ме́ра всех вещей существующих (čelovék jestʹ méra vsex veščej suščestvujuščix) — Translations
  • Spanish: el hombre es la medida de todas las cosas — Translations
  • Swedish: människan är alltings mått — Translations