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Definition of unit


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u·nit  audio  (ynt) KEY  

NOUN:
  1. An individual, group, structure, or other entity regarded as an elementary structural or functional constituent of a whole.
  2. A group regarded as a distinct entity within a larger group.
    1. A mechanical part or module.
    2. An entire apparatus or the equipment that performs a specific function.
  3. A precisely specified quantity in terms of which the magnitudes of other quantities of the same kind can be stated.
  4. Medicine The quantity of a vaccine, serum, drug, or other agent necessary to produce a specific effect.
    1. A fixed amount of scholastic study used as a basis for calculating academic credits, usually measured in hours of classroom instruction or laboratory work.
    2. A section of an academic course focusing on a selected theme: a unit on Native Americans.
  5. The number immediately to the left of the decimal point in the Arabic numeral system.
  6. Mathematics
    1. The lowest positive whole number; one.
    2. An element of a ring with a multiplicative inverse.

ETYMOLOGY:
Back-formation from unity


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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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