milliliter

American  

[mil-uh-lee-ter] / ˈmɪl əˌli tər /

especially British, millilitre

noun

1. a unit of capacity equal to one thousandth of a liter, and equivalent to 0.033815 fluid ounce, or 0.061025 cubic inch. ml

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milliliter Scientific  

/ mĭl′ə-lē′tər /

1. A unit of liquid volume or capacity in the metric system equal to 0.001 liter.

2. See Table at measurement

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Etymology

Origin of milliliter

From the French word millilitre, dating back to 1800–10. See milli-, liter

Compare meaning

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

• liter vs. milliliter

Example Sentences

People with hepatitis B have 100 million to 10 billion infectious particles per milliliter of blood, says Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025

Her stage name, she said, refers to a milliliter, a way to measure water.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2025

Major supermarkets have been selling olive oil for up to A$65 for a four-liter tin, and up to $26 for a 750 milliliter bottle.

From Salon • May 21, 2024

This genomic technique involved collecting reef water samples, where there are about 1 million microbial cells in every milliliter, and sequencing the microbial DNA in the samples to identify microorganisms.

From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2024

In routine artificial breeding, it is common to add extenders to semen so that one milliliter of diluted semen may contain only 10 million living sperm cells.

From Preservation of Bull Semen at Sub-Zero Temperatures by Friedman, M. E.