unit

 
Pronunciation: /ˈjuːnɪt/

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.

Origin:

late 16th century (as a mathematical term): from Latin unus, probably suggested by digit