absolute unit

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæb.səˌlut ˈju.nɪt/, /ˌæb.səˈljut ˈju.nɪt/

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Compound of absolute (“independent, not relative”) +‎ unit. Attested from the 19th century. Compare various scientific terms with prefix ab-, such as abohm.

absolute unit (plural absolute units)

1. (physics) A unit of measurement that can be defined in terms of mass, length, and time.

Compounded of British colloquial senses of absolute (“utter, complete”) +‎ unit (“physically large person”). Attested from the 2010s.

absolute unit (plural absolute units)

1. (slang, UK, Australia, chiefly Internet, humorous) An exceptionally large or stout person.
   • 2006 February 15, “Sticky Beak”, in Liverpool Leader, Factiva:LIVLEA0020060215e22f00005:

2. (by extension) Anything exceptionally large for its type.
   • 2019 April 18, Reid McCarter, “Bad news, everyone: Elon Musk has discovered the ‘absolute unit’ meme”, in The A.V. Club‎:

• Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief; William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “absolute unit”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 9.