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cubic meter

cubic meter

9 2.7
The amount of space inside a cube with sides one meter, equal to 1000 liters
  • noun
  • /ˈkjuːbɪk ˈmiːtər/
translation icon : metro cúbico
  • A typical shipping container has a volume of about 30 cubic meters.
  • million cubic meters
  • billion cubic meters
  • cubic meters of water

We can again take the example of the one cubic meter of gas at standard temperature and pressure.

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Examples

  • - 88 billion cubic meters.

  • In all, some 8 million cubic meters of wood are left rotting in the forest annually.

    Academic text (1999)
  • We can again take the example of the one cubic meter of gas at standard temperature and pressure.

  • - Let them do 10 cubic meters.

  • Let them do 20 cubic meters.

  • It's going to have units of cubic meters per second, which is a discharge for a river.

  • But do you know how many cubic meters I'd need?

  • I'm talking over five million cubic meters of timber in the first year alone.

  • Each second, millions of cubic meters of water circulate between the ocean's surface and its depths.

    Academic text (1994)
  • As of 2005, irrigators had traded some 185.1 million cubic meters of water per year to urban users.

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

kiloliter
vscubic meter
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A unit of volume equal to 1,000 liters or about 264 gallons

is defined geometrically as the volume of a cube with one metre sides

How Big

cubic meter
9 2.7
cubic centimeter
  • Specialized
4 3.1

Surface Forms

cubic meter singular
cubic meters plural

Morphology

cubic + meter

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from 'cubic' (relating to a cube with three equal dimensions) and 'meter' (a unit of length): it denotes the volume of a cube with sides of one meter. This compositional, measurement-building pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English modifier+noun formation, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the term.

Etymology

The noun cubic meter comes from a simple picture: cubic means 'cube-shaped' and meter means 'one meter', so a cubic meter is the space inside a cube with 'one meter' sides. That's why it is the unit used to measure large amounts of space or liquid.