unit

noun \ ˈyü-nət \

|Updated on: 18 Aug 2018

Definition of unit

1 a : the first and least natural number : one

b : a single quantity regarded as a whole in calculation

2 : a determinate quantity (as of length, time, heat, or value) adopted as a standard of measurement: such as

a : an amount of work used in education in calculating student credits

b : an amount of a biologically active agent (such as a drug or antigen) required to produce a specific result — compare international unit

3 a : a single thing, person, or group that is a constituent of a whole

b : a part of a military establishment that has a prescribed organization (as of personnel and materiel)

c : a piece or complex of apparatus serving to perform one particular function

d : a part of a school course focusing on a central theme

e : a local congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses

f : a small molecule especially when combined in a larger molecule

repeating units of a polymer

g : an area in a medical facility and especially a hospital that is specially staffed and equipped to provide a particular type of care

an intensive care unit

See unit defined for English-language learners

See unit defined for kids

Examples of unit in a Sentence

The family is the basic unit of society.
The search party broke up into smaller units.
Their army unit guarded the border.
Feet and meters are units of length.
The dollar is the principal unit of American currency.

Recent Examples of unit from the Web

Two county supervisors are calling for reversal of a decision that would indefinitely suspend the mental health units at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside.

— paul sisson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Two county supervisors ask Tri-City to rethink mental health unit suspension," 12 July 2018
The infusion of capital means Georgia Power will be contributing less of its own money to the construction of two new units at the Waynesboro nuclear power plant.

— alex soderstrom, ajc, "Lower Vogtle costs result in $25 credit for Georgia Power customers," 11 July 2018
He was ordered held on $200,000 bail during his arraignment Monday from his hospital bed in the burn unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, where a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.

— jerome campbell, BostonGlobe.com, "East Boston man ordered held on $200,000 bail on explosive charges after apartment blast," 9 July 2018
In lieu of flowers, donations should be made in his name to the Neonatal Care Unit at Winnie Palmer Hospital which was near and dear to his heart after his grandsons spent three months in the unit under their skilled, watchful, and loving care.

— orlando sentinel, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Deaths in Central Florida: 7/8," 8 July 2018
The team hopes to begin presales of apartments ranging from studios to four-bedroom units at the end of this year or the beginning of 2019, said Eric Benaim, chief executive of Modern Spaces, the real-estate firm marketing the 778-foot-tall tower.

— keiko morris, WSJ, "Soaring Condo Project Coming to Long Island City," 8 July 2018
In a repurposed house unit at Cheshire Correctional Institute in Connecticut, staff members who are trained in neuroscience development work with men ages 18 to 25.

— david jordan, The Christian Science Monitor, "Vermont rolls out a new idea to rehabilitate young offenders," 6 July 2018
Livia Gershon | Longreads | June 2018 | 9 minutes (2,201 words) Kate Phillips, a nurse who works in the intensive care unit at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore, is part of a group trying to form a union.

— livia gershon, Longreads, "Nurses, Unite!," 28 June 2018
The Texas native, who began his career in California by building 1,600 on-base rental housing units at Camp Pendleton in 1952, and later 5,000 homes in La Jolla, Clairemont and the South Bay, relocated to La Jolla by the late 1950s.

— elizabeth marie himchak, Rancho Bernardo, "Rancho Bernardo's founder, Harry Summers, has died," 26 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of unit

back-formation from unity

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1570

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

Other Number-Related Terms

jubilee, myriad, quarantine, score, twain

unit

adjective

Definition of unit

: being, relating to, or measuring one unit

First Known Use of unit

1633

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

abscissa, denominator, divisor, equilateral, exponent, hypotenuse, logarithm, oblique, radii, rhomb

UNIT Defined for English Language Learners

unit

noun

Definition of unit for English Language Learners

: a single thing, person, or group that is a part of something larger
: a part of a hospital where a particular type of care is provided
: a particular amount of length, time, money, etc., that is used as a standard for counting or measuring