metric system
metric system
decimal system of weights and measures in which the meter is the basic unit of length and the kilogram is the basic unit of weight
Metric system
The
metric system is an internationally agreed
decimal system of measurement. It was originally based on the and the introduced by the
First French Republic in 1799, but over the years the definitions of the metre and the kilogram have been refined, and the metric system has been extended to incorporate many more units. Although a number of variants of the metric system emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the term is now often used as a synonym for "SI" or the "
International System of Units"—the official
system of measurement in almost every country in the world.
metric system
Noun
1. a decimal system of weights and measures based on the meter and the kilogram and the second
(hypernym) system of weights and measures
(hyponym) cgs, cgs system
(part-meronym) metric weight unit, weight unit
Metric system
See Metric, a.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter.
About
metric system
A decimal
system of weights and measures based on the meter as a unit of length and the kilogram as a unit of mass.
Note: The modern form of the metric system is the International System of Units (SI).
See International System of Units.