unit

¹

[yoo-nit]

noun

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.

Unit.

²

abbreviation

1. Unitarian.

unit

¹

/ 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

Unit.

²

abbreviation

1. Unitarian

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of unit¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of unit¹

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

Example Sentences

It will be the third time that the hostages' unit has gone operational.

Read more on BBC

There was a previous fatal explosion at a unit in the same location in 2014.

Read more on BBC

Reports from Gaza suggest that armed Hamas units have already deployed across several districts, some wearing civilian clothes and others in the blue uniforms of the Gaza police.

Read more on BBC

"Moving forward, these lantern units can be assembled into 2D and 3D architectures for broad applications in shape-morphing mechanical metamaterials and robotics," says Yin.

Read more on Science Daily

Gold futures settled Wednesday at a record $4,043.30 a troy ounce, the special unit of weight used for precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum that dates to medieval trade markets.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• crew 
• entity 
• group 
• system