liter

American  

[lee-ter] / ˈli tər /

especially British, litre

noun

liters plural

1. a unit of capacity redefined in 1964 by a reduction of 28 parts in a million to be exactly equal to one cubic decimeter. It is equivalent to 1.0567 U.S. liquid quarts and is equal to the volume of one kilogram of distilled water at 4°C. l

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liter British  

/ ˈliːtə /

noun

1. the US spelling of litre

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liter Scientific  

/ lē′tər /

1. The basic unit of liquid volume or capacity in the metric system, equal to 1.06 quart or 2.12 pints.

2. See Table at measurement

3. The basic unit of dry volume or capacity in the metric system, equal to 0.90 quart or 1.82 pint.

4. See Table at measurement

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• liters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of liter

1800–10; < French litre, back formation from litron an old measure of capacity, derivative (with -on noun suffix) of Medieval Latin litra < Greek lítra pound

Compare meaning

How does liter compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• gallon vs. liter
• liter vs. milliliter
• pint vs. liter

Explanation

A liter is a liquid unit of measurement. Drinking a liter of water everyday is good for you, though drinking a liter of diet soda probably isn't. A liter is a metric unit that measures volume. You can also spell the word litre, which is actually the most common spelling outside of the United States. Liters most often measure liquids — a large bottle of Coke or Pepsi, for example, typically comes in a two liter size. The French word litre comes from the obsolete litron, which once measured amounts of grain, with its Greek root litra, or "pound."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

liter liters

But the fuel blockade is hurting business, strangled by power cuts of up to 30 hours at a time, and fuel prices of up to $8 a liter.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Doctors said she lost a liter of blood and her complications were likely worse for having been forced to wait so long to deliver.

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

The average price in Myanmar was $1.56 per liter as of April 27, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com, which tracks retail energy prices around the world.

From MarketWatch ● May 1, 2026

France has started subsidizing 20 cents per liter of fuel for impacted industries like transportation, agriculture and fisheries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

I do not really believe you have a liter of kerosene to waste on me.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

Rescuers had provided him with more than ten liters of water to keep him hydrated via a hose and installed a tube to provide him with oxygen.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

The pungent smell of death emanates from the Caracas morgue, an odour that thousands of liters of donated chlorine cannot mask.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

Each participant's "fluid prescription" was calculated by comparing their usual urine output with the amount needed to reach a daily goal of at least 2.5 liters.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026

Australia has secured an extra 450 million liters of diesel and an additional 100 million liters of jet fuel by underwriting those cargoes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

According to NASA, a human needs 588 liters of oxygen per day to live.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir