units

noun

(mathematics) Oneness, singularity, seen as a component of a whole number; a magnitude of one.

(sciences) A standard measure of a quantity or magnitude.

The number one.

(education) A course, lesson, or section of a curriculum covering a particular topic or skill.

(commerce) An item which may be sold singly.

An organized group comprising people and/or equipment.

(US, Australia, New Zealand) A measure of housing equivalent to the living quarters of one household; an apartment where a group of apartments is contained in one or more multi-storied buildings or a group of dwellings is in one or more single storey buildings, usually arranged around a driveway.

(US, UK, Australia, New Zealand) Any piece of equipment, such as an appliance, power tool, stereo system, computer, tractor, or machinery.

(medicine) A quantity of approximately 517 milliliters (1.1 U.S. pints) of blood.

(US, military) Any military element whose structure is prescribed by competent authority, such as a table of organization and equipment; specifically, part of an organization.

(US, military) An organization title of a subdivision of a group in a task force.

(US, military) A standard or basic quantity into which an item of supply is divided, issued, or detailed. In this meaning, also called unit of issue.

(US, military) With regard to Reserve Components of the Armed Forces, denotes a Selected Reserve unit organized, equipped, and trained for mobilization to serve on active duty as a unit or to augment or be augmented by another unit. Headquarters and support functions without wartime missions are not considered units.

(UK) A unit of alcohol.

(UK, electricity) One kilowatt-hour (as recorded on an electricity meter).

(UK, Australia, slang) A physically large person.

(military, informal) A member of a military organization.

A work unit.

(retail) A structure used to display goods for sale (usually containing shelves, pegs or hooks)

(geology) A volume of rock or ice of identifiable origin and age range that is defined by the distinctive and dominant, easily mapped and recognizable petrographic, lithologic or paleontologic features (facies) that characterize it.

(algebra) The identity element, neutral element.

(algebra) An element having an inverse, an invertible element; an associate of the unity.

(category theory) In an adjunction, a natural transformation from the identity functor of the domain of the left adjoint functor to the composition of the right adjoint functor with the left adjoint functor.

(US, slang, vulgar) A penis, especially a large one.

Ellipsis of international unit. [(pharmacology) A particular, minute unit of mass, defined differently for different substances, but so that varying substances of the same general type have the property that one international unit of the one has the same effect on the human body as one international unit of the other.]

(historical) A gold coin of the reign of James I, worth twenty shillings.

adjective

(mathematics) Having a size or magnitude of one.

For each unit.

Roots

unusun- · Latin · one

Synonyms & related words for units

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Words related to units

Explore words related to units — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include multiunit, centistere, micromho, battalions, squadrons, brigade, abcoulombs, divisions. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does units come from?

The word units breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root un-, from Latin unus (“one”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.