measurement
meas·ure·ment
(mĕzh′ər-mənt)n.
1. The act of measuring or the process of being measured.
2. A system of measuring: measurement in miles.
3. The dimension, quantity, or capacity determined by measuring: the measurements of a room.
CONVERSION BETWEEN METRIC AND U.S. CUSTOMARY UNITS
FROM U.S. CUSTOMARY TO METRIC
| When You Know | Multiply By | To Find |
|---|---|---|
| inches | 25.4 | millimeters |
| 2.54 | centimeters | |
| feet | 30.48 | centimeters |
| yards | 0.91 | meters |
| miles | 1.61 | kilometers |
| teaspoons | 4.93 | milliliters |
| tablespoons | 14.79 | milliliters |
| fluid ounces | 29.57 | milliliters |
| cups | 0.24 | liters |
| pints (liquid) | 0.47 | liters (liquid) |
| quarts (liquid) | 0.95 | liters (liquid) |
| gallons | 3.79 | liters |
| cubic feet | 0.028 | cubic meters |
| cubic yards | 0.76 | cubic meters |
| ounces | 28.35 | grams |
| pounds | 0.45 | kilograms |
| short tons (2,000 lbs) | 0.91 | metric tons |
| square inches | 6.45 | square centimeters |
| square feet | 0.09 | square meters |
| square yards | 0.84 | square meters |
| square miles | 2.59 | square kilometers |
| acres | 0.40 | hectares |
FROM METRIC TO U.S. CUSTOMARY
| When You Know | Multiply By | To Find |
|---|---|---|
| millimeters | 0.04 | inches |
| centimeters | 0.39 | inches |
| meters | 3.28 | feet |
| 1.09 | yards | |
| kilometers | 0.62 | miles |
| milliliters | 0.20 | teaspoons |
| 0.07 | tablespoons | |
| 0.03 | fluid ounces | |
| liters (liquid) | 1.06 | quarts (liquid) |
| 0.26 | gallons | |
| 4.23 | cups | |
| 2.12 | pints (liquid) | |
| cubic meters | 35.31 | cubic feet |
| 1.35 | cubic yards | |
| grams | 0.035 | ounces |
| kilograms | 2.20 | pounds |
| metric tons (1,000 kg) | 1.10 | short tons |
| square centimeters | 0.155 | square inches |
| square meters | 1.20 | square yards |
| square kilometers | 0.39 | square miles |
| hectares | 2.47 | acres |
TEMPERATURE CONVERSION BETWEEN CELSIUS AND FAHRENHEIT
| °C = (°F - 32) ÷ 1.8 |
| °F = (°C × 1.8) + 32 |
UNITS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
The International System (abbreviated SI, for Système International, the French name for the system) was adopted in 1960 by the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures. An expanded and modified version of the metric system, the International System addresses the needs of modern science for additional and more accurate units of measurement. The key features of the International System are decimalization, a system of prefixes, and a standard defined in terms of an invariable physical measure.
BASE UNITS
The International System has base units from which all others in the system are derived. The standards for the base units, except for the kilogram, are defined by unchanging and reproducible physical occurences. For example, the meter is defined as the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. The standard for the kilogram is a platinum-iridium cylinder kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Standards in Sèvres, France.
| Unit | Quantity | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| meter | length | m |
| kilogram | mass | kg |
| second | time | s |
| ampere | electric current | A |
| kelvin | temperature | K |
| mole | amount of matter | mol |
| candela | luminous intensity | cd |
PREFIXES
A multiple of a unit in the International System is formed by adding a prefix to the name of that unit. The prefixes change the magnitude of the unit by orders of ten from 1024 to 10-24.
| Prefix | Symbol | Multiplying Factor |
|---|---|---|
| yotta- | Y | 1024 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 |
| zetta- | Z | 1021 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 |
| exa- | E | 1018 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 |
| peta- | P | 1015 = 1,000,000,000,000,000 |
| tera- | T | 1012 = 1,000,000,000,000 |
| giga- | G | 109 = 1,000,000,000 |
| mega- | M | 106 = 1,000,000 |
| kilo- | k | 103 = 1,000 |
| hecto- | h | 102 = 100 |
| deca- | da | 10 = 10 |
| deci- | d | 10-1 = 0.1 |
| centi- | c | 10-2 = 0.01 |
| milli- | m | 10-3 = 0.001 |
| micro- | μ | 10-6 = 0.000,001 |
| nano- | n | 10-9 = 0.000,000,001 |
| pico- | p | 10-12 = 0.000,000,000,001 |
| femto- | f | 10-15 = 0.000,000,000,000,001 |
| atto- | a | 10-18 = 0.000,000,000,000,000,001 |
| zepto- | z | 10-21 = 0.000,000,000,000,000,000,001 |
| yocto- | y | 10-24 = 0.000,000,000,000,000,000,000,001 |
DERIVED UNITS
Most of the units in the International System are derived units, that is units defined in terms of base units and supplementary units. Derived units can be divided into two groups—those that have a special name and symbol, and those that do not.
| WITHOUT NAMES AND SYMBOLS | |
|---|---|
| Measure of | Derivation |
| acceleration | m/s2 |
| angular acceleration | rad/s2 |
| angular velocity | rad/s |
| density | kg/m3 |
| electric field strength | V/m |
| luminance | cd/m2 |
| magnetic field strength | A/m |
| velocity | m/s |
| WITH NAMES AND SYMBOLS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit | Measure of | Symbol | Derivation |
| coulomb | electric charge | C | A·s |
| farad | electric capacitance | F | A·s/V |
| henry | inductance | H | V·s/A |
| hertz | frequency | Hz | cycles/s |
| joule | quantity of energy | J | N·m |
| lumen | flux of light | lm | cd·sr |
| lux | illumination | lx | lm/m2 |
| newton | force | N | kg·m/s2 |
| ohm | electric resistance | Ω | V/A |
| pascal | pressure | Pa | N/m2 |
| tesla | magnetic flux density | T | Wb/m2 |
| volt | voltage | V | W/A |
| watt | power | W | J/s |
| weber | magnetic flux | Wb | V·s |
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
measurement
(ˈmɛʒəmənt)n
1. the act or process of measuring
2. an amount, extent, or size determined by measuring
3. a system of measures based on a particular standard
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
meas•ure•ment
(ˈmɛʒ ər mənt)n.
1. the act of measuring.
2. a measured dimension.
3. extent, size, etc., ascertained by measuring.
4. a system of measuring or measures: liquid measurement.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
meas·ure·ment
(mĕzh′ər-mənt)A method for determining quantity, capacity, or dimension. All systems of measurement use units whose amounts have been arbitrarily set and agreed upon by a group of people. Several systems of measurement are in common use, notably the United States Customary System and the metric system. The metric system has been officially adopted as the international standard for use in science, providing scientists all over the world with an efficient way of comparing the results of experiments conducted at different times and in different places.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Measurement
the measurement of the relative amount of acetic acid in a given subtance. — acetimetrical, adj.
Chemistry. the determination of the amount of free acid in a liquid. — acidimeter, n. — acidimetrical, adj.
measurement of pain by means of an algometer.
the measurement of evaporation in the air. — atmidometer, n.
1. the measurement of oneself.
2. the measurement of a part of a figure as a fraction of the total figure’s height. — autometric, adj.
the measurement of distance or lines by means of a stave or staff.
the science of land surveying.
accurate measurement of short intervals of time by means of a chronoscope. — chronoscopic, adj.
the science of measuring the universe.
the measurement of extremely low temperatures, by means of a cryometer.
the measurement of circles.
the measurement by a dosimeter of the dosage of radiation a per-son has received. See also drugs. — dosimetrist, n. — dosimetric, dosimetrical, adj.
measurement of the red blood cells in the blood, by use of an erythrocytometer.
the science of measuring and analyzing gases by means of a eudiometer.
the measurement of fluorescence, or visible radiation, by means of a fluorometer. — fluorometric, adj.
the measurement of the strength of electric currents, by means of a galvanometer. — galvanometric, galvanometrical, adj.
the measurement of the amounts of the gases in a mixture. — gasometer, n. — gasometric, gasometrical, adj.
the practice or theory of measuring angles, especially by means of a goniometer.
the measurement of the dimensions and angles of the planes of salt crystals. — halometer, n.
the practice of measuring the angular distance between stars by means of a heliometer. — heliometric, heliometrical, adj.
the art or science of measuring time. — horometrical, adj.
the measurement of altitude and heights, especially with refer-ence to sea level. — hypsometric, hypsometrical, adj.
the practice and art of determining the strength and coloring power of an indigo solution.
equality of measure. — isometric, isometrical, adj.
the measurement of impurities in the air by means of a konimeter. — konimetric, adj.
1. the measuring and recording of variations in fluid pressure, as blood pressure.
2. the measuring and recording of the angular oscillations of an aircraft in flight, with respect to an axis or axes flxed in space. — kymograph, n. — kymographic, adj.
Rare. an instrument for measuring large objects. See also geography.
1. the act, process, or science of measurement.
2. the branch of geometry dealing with measurement of length, area, or volume. — mensurate, mensurational, adj.
the study and science of measures and weights. — metrologist, n. — metrological, adj.
the measurement of osmotic pressure, or the force a dissolved substance exerts on a semipermeable membrane through which it cannot pass when separated by it from a pure solvent. — osmometric, adj.
the measurement of bones.
the determination or estimation of the quantity of oxide formed on a substance. — oxidimetric, adj.
Obsolete, the realm of geometrical measurements, taken as a whole. — pantometer, n. — pantometric, pantometrical, adj.
the measurement of pressure or compressibility, as with a piezometer. — piezometric, adj.
the measurement of the plasticity of materials, as with a plastometer. — plastometric, adj.
the measurement of the capacity of the lungs. — pulmometer, n.
the measurement of temperatures greater than 1500 degrees Celsius. — pyrometer, n. — pyrometric, pyrometrical, adj.
the measurement of radiant energy by means of a radiometer. — radiometric, adj.
the measurement of electric current, usually with a galvanometer. — rheometric, adj.
a means of surveying in which distances are measured by reading intervals on a graduated rod intercepted by two parallel cross hairs in the telescope of a surveying instrument. — stadia, adj.
1. the process of determining the volume and dimensions of a solid.
2. the process of determining the specific gravity of a liquid. — stereometric, adj.
the measurement of distance, height, elevation, etc., with a tachymeter.
the science or use of the telemeter; long-distance measurement.
the measurement of the turbidity of water or other fluids, as with a turbidimeter. — turbidimetric, adj.
measurement of the specific gravity of urine, by means of an urinometer.
the measurement of the volume of a solid body by means of a volumenometer.
the measurement of the volume of solids, gases, or liquids; volumetric analysis. — volumetric, volumetrical, adj.
the measurement and comparison of the sizes of animals and their parts. — zoometric, adj.
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
measurement
– measure1. 'measurement'
A measurement is a result obtained by measuring something.
Check the measurements carefully.
Every measurement was exact.
2. 'measure'
You do not use 'measurement' to refer to an action taken by a government. The word you use is measure.
Measures had been taken to limit the economic decline.
Day nurseries were started as a war-time measure to allow mothers to work.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012