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Glite Dictionary
area unit

area unit

2.6
A standard measure of the size of a flat area, like square meters
  • noun
translation icon : unidad de área
  • The local government uses square meters as the standard area unit for land measurements.
  • census area unit
  • area unit scale

Examples

  • Figures 8 and 9 show the number of Type V meshblocks in each census area unit.

    Academic text (2008)

  • But to what extent do members of those groups predominate in the separate small areas encapsulated within the census area units?

    Academic text (2008)

  • The average number of Type V meshblocks per census area unit was 3.6 in 2006, compared with 1.0, 1.4, and 1.6, respectively, at the three previous censuses.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Furthermore, they can be aggregated to a consistent set of census area units, of which Auckland had 315 in the 1991-2001 period.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Many more census area units had a large proportion of their meshblocks categorized as Type V for Pacific Islanders than for Asians.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The inventory of residential buildings is divided into groups, where each is defined by its geographic area unit or location (e.g., census tract), building category, resistance level, and risk region.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Reflecting this greater clustering, twelve census area units contained five or more Type V meshblocks, including Hillsborough West (eighteen of its forty-seven meshblocks).

    Academic text (2008)

  • We focus initially on the census area units in order to describe the distributions of Asians and Pacific Islanders across the 315 areas (Tables IV and V).

    Academic text (2008)

  • Third, the census area unit data allow residential patterns for different groups within the broader categories of Asians and Pacific Islanders to be explored, which is not feasible at the meshblock scale for which such detailed data are not released because of confidentiality constraints.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The percentage of Auckland's Asians living in Type V meshblocks increased from 2.3 to 10.0 (see Table III), and 220 Type V meshblocks were identified in 2006, spread across sixty-one census area units.

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

unit of measurement
vsarea unit
  • Specialized
3 3.2

A fixed amount used as a standard to measure length, weight, or volume

is the specific standard for measuring surface size rather than general quantities
square measure
vsarea unit
3.5

A unit for area like a square meter or square foot

is the more general standard for measuring surface size beyond two dimensional units
measuring unit
vsarea unit
2.7

A standard amount used to measure things like length or weight

is focused on surface size measures rather than general single dimension standards

How Big

square kilometer
  • US
15 2.6
hectare
  • Specialized
18 3.8
acre
382 1.3
area unit
2.6
square meter
  • US
10 1.0
square centimeter
  • Specialized
1 2.2

Surface Forms

area unit singular
area units plural

Morphology

area + unit

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'area' (surface extent) + 'unit' (measurement standard): it denotes a unit used to measure area. This noun–noun composition is literal and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

The noun area unit comes from the simple idea of using one regular unit, like a square or an acre, to cover an area. So, area unit means a 'standard measure' for the size of land or space.