liter

noun li·ter \ ˈlē-tər \

variants: or litre

|Updated on: 29 Jun 2018

Definition of liter

: a metric unit of capacity equal to one cubic decimeter — see Metric System Table

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See liter defined for kids

Recent Examples of liter from the Web

Some of the tanks contained small amounts of cocaine—20 nanograms per liter, which corresponds to the mean concentration of the drug that has been detected in surface waters—and some were filled with tap water.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Cocaine in the Water Is Hurting River Eels," 20 June 2018
Ninety-two octane gasoline increased from 5 pounds to 6.75 pounds (from 28 cents to 38 cents) per liter, or about a 34-percent increase.

— samy magdy, BostonGlobe.com, "Egypt increases fuel prices, as part of austerity measures," 16 June 2018
Ninety-two octane gasoline increased from 5 pounds to 6.75 pounds (from 28 cents to 38 cents) per liter, or about a 34-percent increase.

— Washington Post, "Egypt increases fuel prices, as part of austerity measures," 16 June 2018
One of my friends, who fell in love with Germany on a recent trip, strolled down memory lane with the Andechs Helles ($8 for ½ liter), a German lager served in a stein.

— michael bauer, San Francisco Chronicle, "Wursthall in San Mateo at its best with beer & brat," 18 May 2018
Seeing Kenny Chesney perform live is a bit like seeing what happens after a hyperactive kid eats a half-pound bag of Skittles and washes them down with a liter of Coca-Cola.

— théoden janes, charlotteobserver, "Review: Chesney’s show is sweaty fun, with a couple of flying bras to top it all off | Charlotte Observer," 12 May 2018
Sloane told Reuters that a single iceberg, weighing about 70,000 tons, would be enough to provide nearly 150 million liters of water per day for an entire year.

— brandon miller, CNN, "Could icebergs be the answer to Cape Town's water crisis?," 1 May 2018
Prices had risen to 3.6 reals ($0.98) per liter before the strike, with five increases in the week before truckers took action.

— CNN, "Brazil's President concedes to striking truckers' demands after week-long work stoppage," 28 May 2018
With water released from sub-drains and the bypass, there’s an agreement with the fishing industry that releases must be below 1,500 becquerels per liter.

— william steel, Ars Technica, "Remediating Fukushima—“When everything goes to hell, you go back to basics”," 11 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'liter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of liter

French litre, from Medieval Latin litra, a measure, from Greek, a weight

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1797

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Weights and Measures Terms

avoirdupois weight, calorie, denier, kip, pace, twain

LITER Defined for English Language Learners

liter

noun

Definition of liter for English Language Learners

: a metric unit for measuring the volume of a liquid or gas that is equal to 1.057 quarts

LITER Defined for Kids

liter

noun li·ter \ ˈlē-tər \

Definition of liter for Students

: a metric unit of liquid capacity equal to 1.057 quarts

Medical Dictionary

liter

noun li·ter

variants: or chiefly British litre play \ˈlēt-ər\

medical Definition of liter

: a metric unit of capacity equal to the volume of one kilogram of water at 4°C (39°F) and at standard atmospheric pressure of 760 millimeters of mercury