milligram

[ mil-i-gram ]

/ ˈmɪl ɪˌgræm /

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noun

a unit of mass or weight equal to one thousandth of a gram, and equivalent to 0.0154 grain. Abbreviation: mg

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Also especially British, mil·li·gramme .

Origin of milligram

From the French word milligramme, dating back to 1800–10. See milli-, -gram²

Words nearby milligram

milliequivalent, millier, millifarad, milligal, Milligan, milligram, milligram-hour, millihenry, Millikan, millilambert, milliliter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use milligram in a sentence

Other potential culprits include the loss of as much as 150 milligrams per hour of calcium through sweating, and chronic inflammation and elevated stress hormones due to overtraining, which might interfere with bone repair.
How Cyclists Can Avoid Low Bone Density|mmirhashem|October 20, 2021|Outside Online
Increasing the amount of the enzyme from 1 milligram per gram of PET to 3 milligrams made it even more efficient — breaking down about 90 percent of the plastic.
New recycling technologies could keep more plastic out of landfills|Maria Temming|April 29, 2021|Science News For Students
Previous experiments have involved objects with masses of hundreds of milligrams or more.
A tiny gold ball is the smallest object to have its gravity measured|Emily Conover|March 10, 2021|Science News
“If they were ten-milligram tablets, she would have taken ten to twenty of them,” Ballard quoted Francisco.
The Strange and Mysterious Death of Mrs. Jerry Lee Lewis|Richard Ben Cramer|January 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

One milligram of californium-252 will spontaneously produce over 10⁹ neutrons per second.
The Atomic Fingerprint|Bernard Keisch
If after a second trial the loss is the same, or only increased by a milligram, the determination is finished.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer
They lose slightly in weight when in use, but the loss is uniform, and averages half a milligram per month when in daily use.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer
They are always weighed on the balance with a counterpoise, but no attempt is made to weigh them closer than to 0.5 milligram.
Respiration Calorimeters for Studying the Respiratory Exchange and Energy Transformations of Man|Francis Gano Benedict
The masses commonly used are the milligram, gram and kilogram.
Physics|Willis Eugene Tower

British Dictionary definitions for milligram

milligram

milligramme

/ (ˈmɪlɪˌɡræm) /

noun

one thousandth of a gramSymbol: mg

Word Origin for milligram

C19: from French

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

Medical definitions for milligram

milligram

[ mĭl′ĭ-grăm′ ]

A metric unit of mass equal to one thousandth (10-3) of a gram.

Scientific definitions for milligram

milligram

[ mĭl′ĭ-grăm′ ]

A unit of mass or weight in the metric system equal to 0.001 gram. See Table at measurement.