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• unit
  unit

  noun

  a single thing or person.
• Unit.
  Unit.

  abbreviation

  Unitarian.

unit

¹ American  

[yoo-nit] / ˈju nɪt /

noun

• units
  plural

1. 

   a single thing or person.

2. any group of things or persons regarded as an entity.

   They formed a cohesive unit.

3. 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.

4. one of a number of things, organizations, etc., identical or equivalent in function or form.

   a rental unit;

   a unit of rolling stock.

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

6. 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.

7. the least positive integer; one.

8. Also called unit's place.

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

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

9. a machine, part, or system of machines having a specified purpose; apparatus.

   a heating unit.

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

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

12. Medicine/Medical.

    1. 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.

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

13. Mathematics.

    1. an identity element.

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

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Unit. ² American  

abbreviation

1. Unitarian.

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unit ¹ British  

/ 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

3. a mechanical part or integrated assembly of parts that performs a subsidiary function

   a filter unit

4. a complete system, apparatus, or establishment that performs a specific function

   a production unit

5. a subdivision of a larger military formation

6. 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

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

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

9. maths

   1. (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

   2. (modifier) having a value defined as one for the system

      unit vector

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

11. short for home unit

12. short for stock unit

13. a self-propelled railcar

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Unit. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Unitarian

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subunit
  noun
• superunit
  noun
• interunit
  adjective
• multiunit
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• units
  plural

Etymology

Origin of unit

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

Explanation

A unit is a single, whole part of something, like a building block. In math class, you might do a unit on algebra before you do another unit on geometry. Also, there are units of measurement, such as inches and miles. The word unit started out in math but has branched out to refer to any singular thing that is part of something larger. Each apartment in a building is a unit. A unit can also be a small group that fits into a larger social organization, like a military unit or a family unit. In all cases, a unit is a small, whole part of something bigger.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unit Unit. units

Elsewhere on Saturday, French luxury house Hermes presented its women's collection in the courtyard of the elite Republican Guard police unit in Paris, making the zip its leitmotif and the ultra-fine strap an accessory.

From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026

The kickoff coverage unit gave up a long return against the 49ers but appears to have improved.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

Strapped to his chest was a smartphone showing the real-time locations of him and his unit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

RNA and DNA differ chemically by only one oxygen atom in each sugar unit.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

The party on the other side of his bet against subprime mortgage bonds was the triple-A-rated insurance company AIG—American International Group, Inc. Or, rather, a unit of AIG called AIG FP.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

"White is being booked into the Fulton County Jail right now. This case is being investigated by @ATLFireRescue Arson Unit. @FGTV @FultonInfo."

From Fox News ● Jun. 23, 2020

“Yeah. Unit. God, I’m so excited to be going to a real party.”

From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson

But it came with issues, with some teams complaining the units were too cramped and the beds too short.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

In the third quarter, GM sales fell 5.5 percent to 670,974 units, while Toyota sales rose 0.6 percent to 633,223 units.

From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026

He will also qualify for a signing bonus of $31.5 million to come over to the new company, paid through restricted stock units.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Geely Automobile reported monthly sales of 292,168 units, up 7% from a year earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Natural selection was not operating on organisms but on their units of heredity.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• crew
• entity
• group
• system