Word
millimeter
Phoneticsmil·lime·ter
/ˈmɪɫəˌmitɝ/
UK spelling · millimetre
Definition
n. a very small unit of length. There are ten of these in one centimeter and one thousand in a meter.
n. a metric unit of length equal to one thousandth of a meter. Often used for precise measurements in technical or scientific contexts.
Examples
“The insect is only one millimeter long.”
“The carpenter measured the gap carefully to ensure it was within a millimeter of the plan.”
“Modern manufacturing requires components to be machined with a tolerance of less than a millimeter to ensure the mechanical parts fit together perfectly.”
Examples
simple
“The insect is only one millimeter long.”
contextual
“The carpenter measured the gap carefully to ensure it was within a millimeter of the plan.”
complex
“Modern manufacturing requires components to be machined with a tolerance of less than a millimeter to ensure the mechanical parts fit together perfectly.”
Usage
Commonly abbreviated as 'mm' in both technical and everyday writing.
Pitfall
ten millimeter
ten millimeters
When used as a noun with a number greater than one, it must be plural; the singular form is only used when it acts as a modifier before another noun.
Etymology
From French millimètre, as if milli- + meter.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/millimeter