unit
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
Any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
yoonuhtSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈjunət
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
sciences
Any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange
“The dollar is the United States unit of currency.”
sciences
A standard measure of a quantity or magnitude.
mathematics
Oneness, singularity, seen as a component of a whole number; a magnitude of one.
An organized group comprising people and/or equipment.
USAustraliaNew 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.
USUKAustraliaNew Zealand
Any piece of equipment, such as an appliance, power tool, stereo system, computer, tractor, or machinery.
adjective
For each unit.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange
Used this way, unit is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This sense is about measurement, so it is used where accuracy is the point.
“The dollar is the United States unit of currency.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
- Academic writing
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “unit of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: unit of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use unit
- “The dollar is the United States unit of currency.”noun
- “The reduced the number of units and installations.”noun
- “The coach said the offensive unit did a good job.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Characterized by unity.
The combination of two or more commercial companies.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
An undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting.
Related to Any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The basic unit of money in the United Arab Emirates.
Monetary unit in the United Arab Emirates.
A federation of seven Arab emirates on the eastern Arabian peninsula.
A republic in northeastern Africa known as the United Arab Republic until 1971.
Merger of the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1957.
A multiethnic alliance in Afghanistan who practice a moderate form of Islam and are united in their opposition to the Taliban.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.