03/02/2016

CIVL1101Projects

CIVL 1101 Abbreviations of Units of Measurement

Abbreviations for most units of measurements use small letters and periods. The few exceptions that use capital letters are noted
below. Temperature abbreviations use capitals because they come from proper nouns. Measures of mass or weight of types of tons
are usually capitalized when abbreviated.
Abbreviations for metric units, including temperatures (Kelvin or Celsius), do not end with periods. Nonmetric units with "per"
(such as "miles per hour") usually do not take periods, either.
Temperature abbreviations are used in all types of writing. Other abbreviations of measurements are limited to lists, charts,
technical writing, and informal writing. In standard formal English, they are spelled out.
If you spell out the number, spell out the unit of measurement.
There is no need to add an s to an abbreviation to show a plural. This is sometimes done in advertising ("3 lbs. for a dollar"), but it
is not necessary.
English Unit Abbreviations

Abbreviation Unit of Measurement

bbl.

barrel

cu.

cubic

doz.

dozen

F., F

Fahrenheit

fl. oz.

fluid ounce

ft.

foot

gal.

gallon

gr.

grain

gr., gro.

gross

in.

inch

k., kt.

karat

k., kt.

knot

lb.

pound

LT, L.T.

long ton

mi.

mile

mph

miles per hour

n.m.

nautical miles

oz.

ounce

pt.

pint

qt.

quart

sq.

square

rpm

revolutions per minute

T., T

ton

T.

tablespoon in some cookbooks

t.

teaspoon in some cookbooks

tbsp.

tablespoon

tsp.

teaspoon

yd.

yard

The single hatch mark ' can stand for foot or a geographical minute (a minute of longitude or latitude). The double hatch mark "
can stand for inch or geographical second (a second of longitude or latitude). So 5'6" would mean five feet, six inches. 4224' 54"
N. would mean 42 degrees, 24 minutes, 54 seconds north.
Metric Abbreviations
Abbreviation Unit of Measurement
b

bit

byte

Celsius, Centigrade

cc or cm

cubic centimeter (cm is standard)

cm

centimeter

G,GB

gigabyte (GB is standard)

g, gr

gram (g is standard)

ha

hectare

Kelvin

K, KB

kilobyte (KB is standard)

kg

kilogram

kl

kiloliter

km

kilometer

liter

meter

M, MB

megabyte (MB is standard)

mcg or g

microgram ( g is standard)

mg

milligram

http://www.ce.memphis.edu/1101/projects/abbreviations_of_units.html

1/2

03/02/2016

CIVL1101Projects
ml

milliliter

mm

millimeter

MT

metric ton

t, T

metric ton

w, W

watt (W is standard)

kw, kW

kilowatt (kW is standard)

kwh, kWh

kilowatthour (kWh is standard)

Since the metric system uses standard prefixes, you can easily figure out most other metric abbreviations; for example, cl would
be centiliter.
The Greek letter (mu) is often used to show the prefix micro, especially in scientific publications. For example, g would be
the same as mcg, and l would be microliter. When by itself, stands for micron. m means millimicron, and means
micromicron (a millionth of a micron).
The prefix nano means "billionth," and is usually represented by the letter n, as in ns for nanosecond.
To abbreviate most square and cubic units in the metric system, add the exponent for square and the exponent for cubic. For
example, m means square meter, and mm means cubic millimeter. If you use this notation, use it consistently: Use cm rather
than cc for cubic centimeter.
In standard scientific notation, the word per is represented by a virgule. So km/h is kilometers per hour.
For international standards including abbreviations for very tiny and very large units, seehttp://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/
orGuide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI).

Copyright19972006English Plus, All rights reserved.

This web site was originally developed byCharles CampforCIVL 1101.
This site is maintained by theDepartment of Civil Engineeringat theUniversity of Memphis.
Yourcomments and questionsare welcomed.

http://www.ce.memphis.edu/1101/projects/abbreviations_of_units.html

2/2