Skip to main content
time unit

time unit

1 1.3
A measure that shows an amount of time, like a second or minute
  • noun
translation icon : unidad de tiempo
  • In biology class, we learned about the different time units used to measure the life cycles of organisms.
  • year time unit

Examples

  • This resulted in 18 10-year time units and 67 ratios (number of species in 10 years).

    Academic text (2010)
  • She entitles her autobiographical novel Those Memories (Tilka al-Thikrayat), and cleverly handles different time units.

    Academic text (1993)
  • This allowance can be easily translated to time units as well.

    Academic text (2010)
  • And so off on the left, the left two columns are both time units, just expect somewhat differently.

  • That's just a choice of the relation between time units and space units.

  • And every such time unit it sends out one photon.

  • When scheduling a meeting, it's important to specify the time unit, such as hours or minutes.

  • The experiment was conducted over several time units to gather accurate data.

Synonyms

unit
vstime unit
589 2.1

A fixed amount used to measure or count things

is specific to expressing durations rather than general standards for trade
unit of measurement
vstime unit
  • Specialized
3 3.2

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

focuses on expressing durations rather than comparing physical amounts
unit of time
vstime unit
  • Specialized
1 1.6

A standard amount of time used to measure how long something lasts like a second or minute

is the same expression written with the words in opposite order
measuring unit
vstime unit
2.7

A standard amount used to measure things like length or weight

is restricted to expressing durations rather than other quantities

How Long

year
1.0
week
1.0
day
1.0
time unit
1 1.3
hour
1.0
minute
1.0
second
  • Specialized
1.0

Surface Forms

time unit singular
time units plural

Morphology

time + unit

The meaning 'a unit of measurement of time' is directly and transparently composed from 'time' (the temporal continuum) + 'unit' (a defined quantity for measurement). This straightforward noun-noun composition follows a common semantic pattern across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Time unit names one fixed amount of time. Think of a unit as a small box used to count things and of time as what we count. A time unit, for example a second or an hour, is that box we use 'to measure time', so we use it to say 'how long' something lasts.