liter

[ lee-ter ]

noun

1. a unit of capacity redefined in 1964 by a reduction of 28 parts in a million to be exactly equal to one cubic decimeter. It is equivalent to 1.0567 U.S. liquid quarts and is equal to the volume of one kilogram of distilled water at 4°C. : l

liter

/ ˈliːtə /

noun

1. the US spelling of litre

liter

/ lē′tər /

1. The basic unit of liquid volume or capacity in the metric system, equal to 1.06 quart or 2.12 pints.
2. See Table at measurement
3. The basic unit of dry volume or capacity in the metric system, equal to 0.90 quart or 1.82 pint.
4. See Table at measurement

Word History and Origins

Origin of liter¹

1800–10; < French litre, back formation from litron an old measure of capacity, derivative (with -on noun suffix) of Medieval Latin litra < Greek lítra pound

Example Sentences

The groups pointed out that the study found low IQ associations only at fluoride concentrations more than double those of the current recommendation of 0.7 milligrams per liter.

From Los Angeles Times

Every year, about 350 million liters goes down the drain, costing businesses over A$580 million to dispose of it and wasting some of the resources it takes to make milk.

From Salon

Even five liters of IV fluid had not moved her blood pressure out of the danger zone.

From Salon

The amount of fluoride needed for mothers to go from the 25th to the 75th percentile was 0.68 milligrams per liter.

From Los Angeles Times

They started their investigation with 8 liters of blueberry juice from fruit grown in southern Spain and separated it into 1-L flasks.

From Science Daily