UNIT

whole, unit

(noun) an assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity; “how big is that part compared to the whole?”; “the team is a unit”

unit

(noun) a single undivided whole; “an idea is not a unit that can be moved from one brain to another”

unit, social unit

(noun) an organization regarded as part of a larger social group; “the coach said the offensive unit did a good job”; “after the battle the soldier had trouble rejoining his unit”

unit, building block

(noun) a single undivided natural thing occurring in the composition of something else; “units of nucleic acids”

unit

(noun) an individual or group or structure or other entity regarded as a structural or functional constituent of a whole; “the reduced the number of units and installations”; “the word is a basic linguistic unit”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

unit (plural units)

(mathematics) Oneness, singularity, seen as a component of a whole number; a magnitude of one. [from 16th c.]

(sciences) A standard measure of a quantity.

The number one.

Clipping of international unit.

An organized group comprising people and/or equipment.

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

(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.

(algebra) The identity element, neutral element.

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

Hypernym: regular element

(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.

(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.

(commerce) An item which may be sold singly.

(UK) A unit of alcohol.

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

(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.

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

A work unit.

(UK, slang) A physically large person.

Synonyms

• (identity element): identity element, unity, unit element

Hyponyms

• (chip): arithmetic logic unit

Adjective

unit (not comparable)

For each unit.

(mathematics) Having a size or magnitude of one.

$$Z_t=A\sin(\omega t+\theta)$$ ,

where $$A$$ is a random variable with a zero mean and a unit variance and $$\theta$$ is a random variable with a uniform distribution on the interval $$[-\pi,\pi]$$ independent of $$A$$ .

Anagrams

• uint

Source: Wiktionary

U"nit, n. Etym: [Abbrev. from unity.]

1. A single thing or person.

2. (Arith.)

Definition: The least whole number; one. Units are the integral parts of any large number. I. Watts.

3. A gold coin of the reign of James I., of the value of twenty shillings. Camden.

4. Any determinate amount or quantity (as of length, time, heat, value) adopted as a standard of measurement for other amounts or quantities of the same kind.

5. (Math.)

Definition: A single thing, as a magnitude or number, regarded as an undivided whole. Abstract unit, the unit of numeration; one taken in the abstract; the number represented by 1. The term is used in distinction from concrete, or determinate, unit, that is, a unit in which the kind of thing is expressed; a unit of measure or value; as 1 foot, 1 dollar, 1 pound, and the like.

– Complex unit (Theory of Numbers), an imaginary number of the form a + b-1, when a2 + b2 = 1.

– Duodecimal unit, a unit in the scale of numbers increasing or decreasing by twelves.

– Fractional unit, the unit of a fraction; the reciprocal of the denominator; thus, unit of the fraction -- Integral unit, the unit of integral numbers, or 1.

– Physical unit, a value or magnitude conventionally adopted as a unit or standard in physical measurements. The various physical units are usually based on given units of length, mass, and time, and on the density or other properties of some substance, for example, water. See Dyne, Erg, Farad, Ohm, Poundal, etc.

– Unit deme (Biol.), a unit of the inferior order or orders of individuality.

– Unit jar (Elec.), a small, insulated Leyden jar, placed between the electrical machine and a larger jar or battery, so as to announce, by its repeated discharges, the amount of electricity passed into the larger jar.

– Unit of heat (Physics), a determinate quantity of heat adopted as a unit of measure; a thermal unit (see under Thermal). Water is the substance generally employed, the unit being one gram or one pound, and the temperature interval one degree of the Centigrade or Fahrenheit scale. When referred to the gram, it is called the gram degree. The British unit of heat, or thermal unit, used by engineers in England and in the United States, is the quantity of heat necessary to raise one pound of pure water at and near its temperature of greatest density (39.1º Fahr.) through one degree of the Fahrenheit scale. Rankine.

– Unit of illumination, the light of a sperm candle burning 120 grains per hour. Standard gas, burning at the rate of five cubic feet per hour, must have an illuminating power equal to that of fourteen such candles.

– Unit of measure (as of length, surface, volume, dry measure, liquid measure, money, weight, time, and the like), in general, a determinate quantity or magnitude of the kind designated, taken as a standard of comparison for others of the same kind, in assigning to them numerical values, as 1 foot, 1 yard, 1 mile, 1 square foot, 1 square yard, 1 cubic foot, 1 peck, 1 bushel, 1 gallon, 1 cent, 1 ounce, 1 pound, 1 hour, and the like; more specifically, the fundamental unit adopted in any system of weights, measures, or money, by which its several denominations are regulated, and which is itself defined by comparison with some known magnitude, either natural or empirical, as, in the United States, the dollar for money, the pound avoirdupois for weight, the yard for length, the gallon of 8.3389 pounds avoirdupois of water at 39.8º Fahr. (about 231 cubic inches) for liquid measure, etc.; in Great Britain, the pound sterling, the pound troy, the yard, or -- Unit of power. (Mach.) See Horse power.

– Unit of resistance. (Elec.) See Resistance, n., 4, and Ohm.

– Unit of work (Physics), the amount of work done by a unit force acting through a unit distance, or the amount required to lift a unit weight through a unit distance against gravitation. See Erg, Foot Pound, Kilogrammeter.

– Unit stress (Mech. Physics), stress per unit of area; intensity of stress. It is expressed in ounces, pounds, tons, etc., per square inch, square foot, or square yard, etc., or in atmospheres, or inches of mercury or water, or the like.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

UNIT

Etymology

Noun

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Adjective

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