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Glite Dictionary
mass unit

mass unit

3.0
A unit used to measure how heavy something is, like a gram or kilogram
  • noun
  • /mæs ˈjunɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : unidad de masa
  • Scientists often express the mass of atoms using mass units called atomic mass units.

Examples

  • So you can see the atomic mass unit will then give you that the atomic mass unit will be one point.

  • The mass unit MeV/c² is equivalent to 1.8 x 10⁻³⁰ kg.

    Academic text (1997)

  • With a molecular weight of only 14.7 kilodaltons (1 dalton = 1 atomic mass unit), these dimers are among the smallest proteins imaged by any kind of microscopy.

    Academic text (1995)

  • The weight of this object can be measured in mass units like grams or kilograms.

  • To accurately calculate food portions, we need to convert everything into mass units.

Synonyms

gram
vsmass unit
  • Specialized
268 1.0

A small unit of weight equal to one thousandth of a kilogram

is a general term covering any specific unit used to quantify mass
milligram
vsmass unit
  • Specialized
142 2.3

A very small weight equal to one thousandth of a gram

is the general name for measuring mass without specifying scale or size
kilogram
vsmass unit
  • Specialized
28 1.0

A unit for measuring mass equal to one thousand grams

is the general category for any unit that measures mass
mg
vsmass unit
  • Specialized
10 2.1

A unit equal to one thousandth of a gram used to measure very small weights

is the wide category that includes both full names and their symbols
microgram
vsmass unit
  • Specialized
9 3.0

A very small unit of mass equal to one millionth of a gram

is the general term for units regardless of how tiny their measures are
mcg
vsmass unit
  • Specialized
4 4.6

A very small mass equal to one millionth of a gram used in medicine

is the broad category covering unit names used across many fields
weight unit
vsmass unit
2.9

A standard measure for weight like a gram or pound

is focused on measuring mass only rather than general heaviness
g
vsmass unit
1.0

A unit of mass equal to one thousandth of a kilogram

is the broad label for all forms of units that measure mass
myriagram
vsmass unit
  • Archaic
9.9

A unit of mass equal to 10 kilograms

is the general class used for any unit regardless of how common it is
atomic mass unit
vsmass unit
  • Specialized
3.9

A small unit for mass used to measure atoms and molecules

is the general unit class used for ordinary objects, not only atomic scales

Surface Forms

mass unit singular
mass units plural

Morphology

mass + unit

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'mass' (amount of matter) + 'unit' (a defined measurement quantity), so the compound denotes a measurement unit for mass. This noun+noun compounding is a straightforward, cross-linguistic pattern that a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand.

Etymology

Mass unit comes from joining mass, the word for the amount of 'stuff' in something, and unit, meaning a single 'standard' measure. So mass unit is 'a standard measure' used to find how much mass something has.