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Glite Dictionary
International System

International System

1 3.9
A standard set of units like metre and kilogram that people use worldwide to measure
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Sistema Internacional
  • I also learned that the kilogram is part of the International System of Units.

Examples

  • These are the seven basic international system units from which most of the other units that you use in science are derived.

  • The Marshall Plan bound together the industrialized nations of Western Europe into an economically interdependent international system.

    Academic text (2013)

  • The International System ensures that scientists around the world use a consistent set of units for measurement.

  • According to the International System, the standard unit of length is the meter.

  • In the laboratory, we always measure substances in accordance with the International System of Units.

Synonyms

SI
vsInternational System
  • Specialized
9 3.7

A worldwide system for measurements using units like the meter, kilogram, and second

is the same system but given a longer formal name
metric system
vsInternational System
8 2.6

A system of measurement using meters, kilograms, and seconds

is the internationally agreed form used especially in science and industry
International System of Units
vsInternational System
  • Specialized
3.5

A modern system of measurement used worldwide that defines units like the meter and kilogram

is the same system but named in a shorter more general form
SI system
vsInternational System
  • Specialized
3.4

A standard metric system for measuring things used worldwide in science and industry

is the same system but named more briefly

Surface Forms

International System singular
International Systems plural

Morphology

international + system

The phrase is compositionally interpretable as a 'system used internationally' from 'international' + 'system', so a B1 learner would grasp a general meaning. However, the capitalized term specifically denotes the conventionalized International System of Units (SI), a technical proper name that is not predictable from the constituents alone and requires prior domain knowledge.

Etymology

International System comes from countries agreeing to use one set of measurement units. The phrase joins international, meaning 'between countries', and system, meaning 'a set', to show it is a single set of 'units' everyone agrees to use, so today it means the agreed set of measurement units.