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Glite Dictionary
cubic inch

cubic inch

4 3.0
A measure of space equal to a cube with sides one inch long
  • noun
  • /ˈkjuːbɪk ɪnʧ/
  • US
translation icon : pulgada cúbica
  • Divide that 2.5 cubic inches into 1.6 million, and you come up with 660,000 golf balls.
  • cubic inches engine
  • cubic inch capacity
  • cubic inches of space

Examples

  • The 420 cubic inch engine was claimed by Duesenberg to put out 265 horsepower, an impressive figure in the late 1920s.

    Blog text (17)

  • It was a 425 cubic inch Cadillac engine, and I fixed it.

    Blog text (10)

  • This was a big car; when our neighbor started up its four hundred cubic inches, the whole block knew he was going for a ride.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • He had needed every cubic inch of the big rental truck in order to clean out Pillbody's shop.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • That means 960 cubic feet, and since there are 1,728 cubic inches in a cubic foot, that means about 1.6 million cubic inches.

    Blog text (2)

  • The Police Caprice, with a 5.7-liter V-8, could outrun Baby, my sleek '57 Corvette ragtop with her original 283-cubic-inch, gas-guzzling engine.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The huge game pouch, covered in thick vinyl, boasts 488 cubic inches of cargo space.

  • Both specialize in getting maximum use from every cubic inch of space while providing every possible human convenience.

  • We've expressed capacity ratings in cubic inches as supplied by the manufacturers.

Synonyms

cu in
vscubic inch
  • Specialized
4.1

A measure of space equal to a cube one inch on each side

is the full written form rather than the short form

How Big

cubic yard
  • US
4 2.6
cubic foot
  • US
17 3.0
cubic inch
  • US
4 3.0
cubic centimeter
  • Specialized
4 3.1

Surface Forms

cubic inch singular
cubic inches plural

Morphology

cubic + inch

The meaning is directly compositional: 'cubic' denotes something relating to a cube (three equal dimensions) and 'inch' is a unit of length, so 'cubic inch' naturally denotes the volume of a one-inch cube. This follows standard measurement word-formation patterns (like 'square meter', 'cubic centimeter') that are cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the parts will understand it.

Etymology

Cubic inch comes from a simple picture: imagine a small cube with sides one inch long, and cubic means it is a real cube, not a flat shape. That little cube measures 'volume', so a cubic inch is a way to say how much space something takes.