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UNIT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An assemblage of parts that is regarded as a single entity
Example:
the team is a unit
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("unit" is a kind of...):
object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)
Meronyms (parts of "unit"):
part; portion (something less than the whole of a human artifact)
section; segment (one of several parts or pieces that fit with others to constitute a whole object)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "unit"):
congener (a whole (a thing or person) of the same kind or category as another)
animate thing; living thing (a living (or once living) entity)
natural object (an object occurring naturally; not made by man)
artefact; artifact (a man-made object taken as a whole)
assembly (a unit consisting of components that have been fitted together)
item (a whole individual unit; especially when included in a list or collection)
aggregate; sum; total; totality (the whole amount)
Derivation:
unify (become one)
unify (to bring or combine together or with something else)
unitize (separate or classify into units)
unitize (make into a unit)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A single undivided whole
Example:
an idea is not a unit that can be moved from one brain to another
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("unit" is a kind of...):
whole (all of something including all its component elements or parts)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "unit"):
one (a single person or thing)
Derivation:
unify (become one)
unitize (separate or classify into units)
Sense 3
Meaning:
An organization regarded as part of a larger social group
Example:
after the battle the soldier had trouble rejoining his unit
Synonyms:
social unit; unit
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("unit" is a kind of...):
organisation; organization (a group of people who work together)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "unit"):
den (a unit of 8 to 10 cub scouts)
crew; gang; work party (an organized group of workmen)
combination (a group of people (often temporary) having a common purpose)
crew (the men and women who man a vehicle (ship, aircraft, etc.))
scout group; scout troop; troop (a unit of Girl or Boy Scouts)
outfit (any cohesive unit such as a military company)
fifth column; Trojan horse (a subversive group that supports the enemy and engages in espionage or sabotage; an enemy in your midst)
political entity; political unit (a unit with political responsibilities)
side (one of two or more contesting groups)
working group; working party (a group of people working together temporarily until some goal is achieved)
squad; team (a cooperative unit (especially in sports))
task force (a semipermanent unit created to carry out a continuing task)
force; military force; military group; military unit (a unit that is part of some military service)
member (an organization that is a member of another organization (especially a state that belongs to a group of nations))
ICU; intensive care unit (a hospital unit staffed and equipped to provide intensive care)
instrumentality (a subsidiary organ of government created for a special purpose)
general delivery; poste restante (the part of a post office that handles mail for persons who call for it)
family; home; house; household; menage (a social unit living together)
company (a unit of firefighters including their equipment)
administrative body; administrative unit (a unit with administrative responsibilities)
klavern (a local unit of the Ku Klux Klan)
Derivation:
unitize (separate or classify into units)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A single undivided natural thing occurring in the composition of something else
Example:
units of nucleic acids
Synonyms:
building block; unit
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("unit" is a kind of...):
thing (a separate and self-contained entity)
Meronyms (parts of "unit"):
part; piece (a portion of a natural object)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "unit"):
molecule ((physics and chemistry) the simplest structural unit of an element or compound)
chemical group; group; radical ((chemistry) two or more atoms bound together as a single unit and forming part of a molecule)
unit cell (the smallest group of atoms or molecules whose repetition at regular intervals in three dimensions produces the lattices of a crystal)
couple ((physics) something joined by two equal and opposite forces that act along parallel lines)
chain; chemical chain ((chemistry) a series of linked atoms (generally in an organic molecule))
Derivation:
unitize (separate or classify into units)
unitize (make into a unit)
unitize (divide (bulk material) and process as units)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange
Example:
change per unit volume
Synonyms:
unit; unit of measurement
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("unit" is a kind of...):
definite quantity (a specific measure of amount)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "unit"):
teraflop; trillion floating point operations per second ((computer science) a unit for measuring the speed of a computer system)
million instructions per second; MIPS ((computer science) a unit for measuring the execution speed of a computer's CPU (but not the whole system))
pain unit (a unit measuring the intensity of pain)
pressure unit (a unit measuring force per unit area)
printing unit (a unit of measurement for printing)
sound unit (any acoustic unit of measurement)
telephone unit (a unit of measurement for telephone use)
temperature unit (a unit of measurement for temperature)
weight; weight unit (a unit used to measure weight)
mass unit (a unit of measurement for mass)
unit of viscosity (a unit of measurement for viscosity)
energy unit; heat unit; work unit (a unit of measurement for work)
langley (unit of solar radiation)
Brinell number (measure of the hardness of a material)
point (the unit of counting in scoring a game or contest)
bit (a unit of measurement of information (from binary + digit); the amount of information in a system having two equiprobable states)
electrostatic unit (any of various units of electricity based on forces of interaction between electric charges)
measuring block; measuring unit (a unit of measurement)
denier (a unit of measurement for the fineness of silk or nylon or rayon)
diopter; dioptre (a unit of measurement of the refractive power of a lens which is equal to the reciprocal of the focal length measured in meters; used by oculists)
carat; karat; kt (the unit of measurement for the proportion of gold in an alloy; 18-karat gold is 75% gold; 24-karat gold is pure gold)
absorption unit (a unit for measuring absorption)
acceleration unit (a unit for measuring acceleration)
angular unit (a unit of measurement for angles)
area unit; square measure (a system of units used to measure areas)
capacity measure; capacity unit; cubage unit; cubature unit; cubic content unit; cubic measure; displacement unit; volume unit (a unit of measurement of volume or capacity)
computer memory unit (a unit for measuring computer memory)
electromagnetic unit; emu (any of various systems of units for measuring electricity and magnetism)
explosive unit (any unit for measuring the force of explosions)
force unit (a unit of measurement of physical force)
linear measure; linear unit (a unit of measurement of length)
metric; metric unit (a decimal unit of measurement of the metric system (based on meters and kilograms and seconds))
miles per gallon (the distance traveled in a vehicle powered by one gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel)
monetary unit (a unit of money)
megaflop; MFLOP; million floating point operations per second ((computer science) a unit for measuring the speed of a computer system)
Derivation:
unitize (separate or classify into units)
unitize (divide (bulk material) and process as units)
Sense 6
Meaning:
An individual or group or structure or other entity regarded as a structural or functional constituent of a whole
Example:
the word is a basic linguistic unit
Classified under:
Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas
Hypernyms ("unit" is a kind of...):
component; component part; constituent; part; portion (something determined in relation to something that includes it)
Derivation:
unitize (separate or classify into units)
unitize (divide (bulk material) and process as units)
Context examples:
A benign neoplastic proliferation of glandular units (acini) with a non-invasive, expansile margin.
(Adenoma of the Mouse Mammary Gland, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)
The unit is based on the USA survey foot of 1200/3937 meters.
(Acre USA Survey, NCI Thesaurus)
An adenovirus nuclear membrane glycoprotein synthesized from the E3 transcription unit in large amounts late in infection.
(Adenovirus Death Protein, NCI Thesaurus)
A dosing unit based on an adjustment in the pH.
(Adjust pH Dosing Unit, NCI Thesaurus)
A biological potency unit assigned to several standardized allergenic extracts, following in-vitro comparison of the test extract to an FDA CBER reference standard.
(Allergy Unit, NCI Thesaurus)
The standard unit of measure for microbiology susceptibility results.
(Microbiology Susceptibility Result Standard Unit, NCI Thesaurus)
A unit of anti-coagulation potency of antithrombin determined as the amount of antithrombin that neutralizes one unit of World Health Organization preparation 89/588 of thrombin.
(Anti-Thrombin Unit, NCI Thesaurus)
A unit of specific radioactivity (massic activity) equal to activity of one microcurie of the sample with total mass of one kilogram.
(Microcurie per Kilogram, NCI Thesaurus)
The unit of measure first specified in the microbiology specimen examination.
(Microbiology Specimen Examination Original Result Unit, NCI Thesaurus)
A traditional unit of length defined as the number of opening per inch of a screen, e.g. the number of strands or particles per inch.
(Mesh, NCI Thesaurus)
