unit

noun

• 1an individual thing or person regarded as single and complete but which can also form an individual component of a larger or more complex whole:large areas of land made up of smaller units the sentence as a unit of grammar the family unit
• a self-contained section in a building or group of buildings:one- and two-bedroom units
• a department of an institution with a specific function:the intensive-care unit
• a subdivision of a larger military grouping:he returned to Germany with his unit
• a self-contained part of an educational course:students take three compulsory core units
• a single manufactured item: [as modifier]:unit cost
• British the smallest measure of investment in a unit trust.

• 2a device that has a specified function, especially one forming part of a complex mechanism:the gearbox and transmission unit
• a piece of furniture or equipment for fitting with others like it or made of complementary parts:a sink unit
• US a police car:he eased into his unit and flicked the siren on

• 3a quantity chosen as a standard in terms of which other quantities may be expressed:a unit of measurement fifty units of electricity

• 4the number one.
• (units) the digit before the decimal point in decimal notation, representing an integer less than ten.