- unit
- 1. when counting, the word "unit" means "one." For example, if a car dealer expects a shipment of 20 units, that means 20 cars.2. a shorthand word for a variety of named "units," particularly the international unit in pharmacology.3. (of blood)a unit of volume for human blood and various blood components or products.A unit of whole blood is 450 milliliters, which is about 0.9510 U.S. pint. For components of blood, one unit is the amount of that substance that would normally be found in one unit of whole blood. The adult human body contains roughly 12 units of whole blood. Note: although the unit is defined by volume, it is actually measured by mass at blood collection centers. Since the density of human blood is 1.053 kilograms per liter, the mass of a unit of blood is about 474 grams or 16.7 ounces.4. (of heroin)a unit of mass or weight for heroin equal to exactly 700 grams (0.7 kilogram or about 1.543 pounds). This unit, standard in the southeast Asian drug trade, is also called the Asian unit in U.S. drug enforcement.5. (of alcohol)a unit of the alcohol content of beverages, used primarily in Britain. One unit of alcohol represents an alcohol content of 10 milliliters or, by weight, 8 grams. The alcohol content of a liter of a beverage is numerically equal to the percentage of alcohol by volume, so that, for example, a wine that is 12% by volume contains 12 units per liter, or 9 units in a standard 750 ml (3/4 liter) bottle.6. (of energy)in Britain, another name for the kilowatt hour, which was formerly called the Board of Trade unit.
Dictionary of units of measurement. 2015.