unit

[ yoo-nit ]

/ ˈyu nɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unit ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a single thing or person.

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

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.

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

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

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.

the least positive integer; one.

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.

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

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

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

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.

Mathematics.

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

Nearby words

unisexual, unisize, unison, unisonous, unispiral, unit, unit card, unit cell, unit character, unit circle, unit cost

Origin of unit

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

Related formsin·ter·u·nit, adjectivemul·ti·u·nit, adjectivesub·u·nit, nounsu·per·u·nit, noun

Definition for unit (2 of 2)

Unit.

Unitarian.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unit

The unit is used to attack foreign networks, and either it or a sister organization was involved in the Sony hack.
U.S. Should Make North Korea Pay for Sony Hack|Gordon G. Chang|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“We were part of the unit protecting gas and oil depots outside of Kirkuk,” Rashid says.
Embedding With the Women Who Are Kicking ISIS Ass|Susannah George|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her unit first deployed in late June—“A very hot summer,” she remembers.
Embedding With the Women Who Are Kicking ISIS Ass|Susannah George|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Keep the location work to second unit so I wouldn't have to be away from Alma?
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

At the same time, the Marines and spouses in the unit shared day-to-day information on a group Facebook page.
War Is About More Than Heroes, Martyrs, and Patriots|Nathan Bradley Bethea|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the morning we passed through a French unit at Omicourt and started our attack.
Average Americans|Theodore Roosevelt
He held it a moment, thinking, and then looked up at his two unit mates.
The Space Pioneers|Carey Rockwell
The dollar was made the unit of account and payment, and subdivisions were made in a decimal ratio.
Albert Gallatin|John Austin Stevens
The muskrat skin was also used as the unit in the later days of the trade.
The Character and Influence of the Indian Trade in Wisconsin|Frederick Jackson Turner
They expressed by the number one, or unit, the first cause, and they concluded to the unity of God from mathematical abstractions.
Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines|John Claudius Pitrat

British Dictionary definitions for unit (1 of 2)

unit

/ (ˈjuːnɪt) /

noun

a single undivided entity or whole

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

a mechanical part or integrated assembly of parts that performs a subsidiary functiona filter unit

a complete system, apparatus, or establishment that performs a specific functiona production unit

a subdivision of a larger military formation

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 quantitythe second is a unit of time

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

a standard measure used in calculating alcohol intake and its effect

maths

(usually plural) the first position in a place-value counting system, representing a single-digit numberin the decimal system the number 27 has 7 units and 2 tens
(modifier) having a value defined as one for the systemunit vector

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

short for home unit

short for stock unit

NZ a self-propelled railcar

Word Origin for unit

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

British Dictionary definitions for unit (2 of 2)

Unit.

abbreviation for

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

Word Origin and History for unit

unit

1560s, "single number regarded as an undivided whole," alteration of unity on the basis of digit. Popularized in John Dee's English translation of Euclid, to express Greek monas (Dee says unity formerly was used in this sense). Meaning "single thing regarded as a member of a group" is attested from 1640s. Extended sense of "a quantity adopted as a standard of measure" is from 1738. Sense of "group of wards in a hospital" is attested from 1893.

Medicine definitions for unit

unit

[ yōō′nĭt ]

n.

An entity regarded as an elementary structural or functional constituent of a whole.

A precisely specified quantity in terms of which the magnitudes of other quantities of the same kind can be stated.

The quantity of a serum, drug, or other agent necessary to produce a specific effect.

unit

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of unit

Definition for unit (2 of 2)

Unit.

Examples from the Web for unit

British Dictionary definitions for unit (1 of 2)

unit

noun

Word Origin for unit

British Dictionary definitions for unit (2 of 2)

Unit.

abbreviation for

Word Origin and History for unit

unit

Medicine definitions for unit

unit

n.