unit

noun \ ˈyü-nət \

|Updated on: 9 Jun 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

Glickman said buying a 30 second national spot on TNT — a unit of Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting system that was airing the playoffs, as was ABC/ESPN — would have cost Mint about $250,000.

— edward c. baig, USA TODAY, "AT&T wouldn't let phone rivals run ads on its DirecTV; then, tiny Mint Mobile cried foul," 6 June 2018
The mayor has stated the city needs 60,000 units of affordable housing to remain accessible to people with moderate salaries.

— anthony alofsin, The Atlantic, "A Defense of the Suburbs," 6 June 2018
Those decisions followed a New Jersey jury’s finding in April that J&J and a unit of talc supplier Imerys SA must pay $117 million to a banker who claimed his cancer was tied to baby powder use.

— jef feeley, Bloomberg.com, "J&J Faces High-Stakes Trial Over 22 Women's Talc Claims," 6 June 2018
Najib was grilled last month over why an additional 42 million ringgit ($10.6 million) was transferred into his bank account from SRC International, a former unit of the 1MDB fund, using multiple intermediary companies.

— Washington Post, "Wife of ex-Malaysia PM questioned, new graft scandal unfolds," 5 June 2018
Of course, this grand scheme is just theoretical if the Delos Corporation can’t secure all that data, which remains locked in the control unit of Peter Abernathy.

— scott meslow, GQ, "Westworld Season 2 Episode 7 Recap: The Coward Dr. Ford," 4 June 2018
Families would be split up in such cases, with adults sent to jails and their children placed in the custody the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a unit of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

— the oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, "Sen. Jeff Merkley denied entry to immigrant detention center," 4 June 2018
Housing advocates say the money will finance thousands of new units of affordable housing in Massachusetts.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Baker signs bill authorizing $1.8b in program funding," 1 June 2018
Los Angeles voters had approved a $1.2-billion bond, Proposition HHH, to help fund the construction of thousands of units of homeless housing across the city.

— emily alpert reyes, latimes.com, "Here's how easy it is to block a homeless housing project in L.A.," 31 May 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