An acatalectic line of verse is a line that has the correct number of syllables in its final foot. In English poetry, this term may not be as important as its opposite, catalectic, because acatalectic lines are the usual case in most types of poetry. Therefore, it is rarely necessary to mention acatalectic lines directly.

For example, it is true that Shakespeare’s sonnets are written in iambic pentameter that is acatalectic. However, this is not stated because iambic pentameter is generally assumed to be acatalectic unless otherwise noted. In very rare cases, such as when discussing English trochaic tetrameter or when comparing acatalectic lines to catalectic ones, the term may be used to clarify the metrical structure.

In poetry written in languages other than English, the term may be more helpful. For instance, in Polish poetry, acatalectic iambic lines are uncommon because poems often end with long vowel sounds, making iambic pentameter in Polish typically 11 syllables long instead of 10.