unit

[ yoo-nit ]
See synonyms for unit on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a single thing or person.

  2. any group of things or persons regarded as an entity: They formed a cohesive unit.

  1. one of the individuals or groups that together constitute a whole; one of the parts or elements into which a whole may be divided or analyzed.

  2. one of a number of things, organizations, etc., identical or equivalent in function or form: a rental unit;a unit of rolling stock.

  3. any magnitude regarded as an independent whole; a single, indivisible entity.

  4. Also called dimension. any specified amount of a quantity, as of length, volume, force, momentum, or time, by comparison with which any other quantity of the same kind is measured or estimated.

  5. the least positive integer; one.

  6. Also called unit's place.

    • (in a mixed number) the position of the first digit to the left of the decimal point.

    • (in a whole number) the position of the first digit from the right of the decimal point.

  7. a machine, part, or system of machines having a specified purpose; apparatus: a heating unit.

  8. Education. a division of instruction centering on a single theme.

  9. Military. an organized body of soldiers, varying in size and constituting a subdivision of a larger body.

  10. Medicine/Medical.

    • the measured amount of a substance necessary to cause a certain effect; a clinical quantity used when a substance cannot be readily isolated in pure form and its activity determined directly.

    • the amount necessary to cause a specific effect upon a specific animal or upon animal tissues.

  11. Mathematics.

    • an identity element.

    • an element in a group, ring, etc., that possesses an inverse.

Origin of unit

1
Coined in 1570 by John Dee as a translation of Greek mónas (previously rendered as unity); perhaps influenced by digit

Other words from unit

  • in·ter·u·nit, adjective
  • mul·ti·u·nit, adjective
  • subunit, noun
  • su·per·u·nit, noun

Other definitions for Unit. (2 of 2)

Unit.

abbreviation
  1. Unitarian.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use unit in a sentence

  • An extra 50,000 men to feed war-trained units already in the field is another, and very different, and very much better thing.

  • The techs had already started a strip-down, their tools and units across the floor adding to the general confusion.

    We're Friends, Now | Henry Hasse
  • But damn it, man, those units cost something like eighty thousand dollars!

    We're Friends, Now | Henry Hasse
  • Tactical use, by the enemy, of the more resilient units of the Landsturm for negotiating Belgian dykes.

  • The best throw, called the Venus, only happened when each of the upturned surfaces presented different units.

British Dictionary definitions for unit (1 of 2)

unit

/ (ˈjuːnɪt) /


noun
  1. a single undivided entity or whole

  2. any group or individual, esp when regarded as a basic element of a larger whole

  1. a mechanical part or integrated assembly of parts that performs a subsidiary function: a filter unit

  2. a complete system, apparatus, or establishment that performs a specific function: a production unit

  3. a subdivision of a larger military formation

  4. Also called: unit of measurement A standard amount of a physical quantity, such as length, mass, energy, etc, specified multiples of which are used to express magnitudes of that physical quantity: the second is a unit of time

  5. the amount of a drug, vaccine, etc, needed to produce a particular effect

  6. a standard measure used in calculating alcohol intake and its effect

  7. maths

    • (usually plural) the first position in a place-value counting system, representing a single-digit number: in the decimal system the number 27 has 7 units and 2 tens

    • (modifier) having a value defined as one for the system: unit vector

  8. Also called: unit set maths logic a set having a single member

  9. short for home unit

  10. short for stock unit

  11. NZ a self-propelled railcar

Origin of unit

1
C16: back formation from unity, perhaps on the model of digit

British Dictionary definitions for Unit. (2 of 2)

Unit.

abbreviation for
  1. Unitarian

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012