unit
unit
/ˈjuːnɪt/
single thing
1 a single thing, person or group that is complete by itself but can also form part of something larger
After 1946 the British Government treated the four territorial divisions as a single unit.
The basic unit of society is the family.
The cell is the unit of which all living organisms are composed.
the role of the family unit in the community
Collocations
adjective
verb + unit
break something down into
divide something into
phrases
unit of analysis
2 (business) a single item of the type of product that a company sells
The game's selling price was $15 per unit.
What's the unit cost?
The manufacturer sold 73 000 units in the first quarter.
China produced 65 million units last year.
Collocations
adjective
basicstandardmonetary…
verb + unit
producesell
unit + noun
costlengthweight…
preposition
unit of
phrases
per unit
in textbook
3 one of the parts into which a textbook or a series of lessons is divided
Each unit of the course that we completed felt like a real achievement.
in a unit The present perfect is covered in Unit 8.
The university is recruiting staff to teach the new units.
You learned this in the first unit.
group of people
4 a group of people who work or live together, especially for a particular purpose
army/military/combat/police units
a special unit of the FBI
Medical units were operating in the disaster area.
Two members of the unit died on the mission.
They formed small units of 15 to 20 people.
The marching column encountered large units of the enemy.
in a unit Soldiers in the unit are trained to survive in the snow and cold.
The army is collaborating with guerrilla units in the border region.
Enemy units have infiltrated the territory.
The new manager changed a talented collection of individuals into a cohesive unit.
Large departments were broken down into smaller units.
Collocations
adjective
armycombatinfantry…
unit + noun
commander
in hospital
5 a department, especially in a hospital, that provides a particular type of care or treatment
the intensive care unit
a maternity unit
The cancer research unit is attached to the local university.
patients in the psychiatric unit
Collocations
adjective
intensive care
accident and emergency
casualty
furniture
6 a piece of furniture, especially a cupboard, that fits with and matches others of the same type
a fitted kitchen with white units
floor/wall units
bedroom/kitchen units
Collocations
adjective
verb + unit
measurement
7 a fixed quantity, etc. that is used as a standard measurement
a unit of measurement
Women are advised not to drink more than fourteen units of alcohol per week.
a unit of time/length/weight
a unit of currency, such as the euro or the dollar
per unit Electricity is ten pence per unit.
The law requires almost all federal agencies to use metric units.
The highest carbon emissions per unit of energy are from coal.
small machine
8 a small machine that has a particular purpose or is part of a larger machine
a waste disposal unit
the central processing unit of a computer
an air-conditioning unit
flat/part of building
9 (formal) a single flat, house or section in a building or group of buildings
a housing/residential unit
to build new affordable housing units
(Australian English, New Zealand English) The site is being redeveloped for 62 home units.
a single dwelling unit
a retail/business unit
an industrial unit
Collocations
adjective
dwellinghousingresidential…
verb + unit
build
number
10 any whole number from 0 to 9
a column for the tens and a column for the units
Word Origin
late 16th cent. (as a mathematical term): from Latin unus, probably suggested by digit.