Abbreviations of Units of Measure
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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. Non-metric 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. 42°24'54" N. would mean 42 degrees, 24 minutes, 54 seconds north.
Metric Abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Unit of Measurement |
| b | bit |
| B | byte |
| C | Celsius, Centigrade |
| cc or cmł | cubic centimeter (cmł is standard) |
| cm | centimeter |
| G,GB | gigabyte (GB is standard) |
| g, gr | gram (g is standard) |
| ha | hectare |
| K | Kelvin |
| K, KB | kilobyte (KB is standard) |
| kg | kilogram |
| kl | kiloliter |
| km | kilometer |
| l | liter |
| m | meter |
| M, MB | megabyte (MB is standard) |
| mcg or ľg | microgram ( ľg is standard) |
| mg | milligram |
| 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 | kilowatt-hour (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 ľ (mu) is often used to show the prefix micro, especially in scientific publications. For example, ľg would be the same as mcg, and ľl would be microliter. When by itself, ľ stands for micron. mľ means millimicron, and ľľ 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 ł for cubic. For example, m˛ means square meter, and mmł means cubic millimeter. If you use this notation, use it consistently: Use cmł rather than cc for cubic centimeter.
In standard scientific notation, the word per is reprsented by a virgule. So km/h is kilometers per hour.
For international standards including abbreviations for very tiny and very large units, see http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/ or http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/checklist.htm.
