NANOMETER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does nanometer mean? 

• NANOMETER (noun)
  The noun NANOMETER has 1 sense:

1. a metric unit of length equal to one billionth of a meter

  Familiarity information: NANOMETER used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NANOMETER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A metric unit of length equal to one billionth of a meter

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

micromillimeter; micromillimetre; millimicron; nanometer; nanometre; nm

Hypernyms ("nanometer" is a kind of...):

metric linear unit (a linear unit of distance in metric terms)

Meronyms (parts of "nanometer"):

A; angstrom; angstrom unit (a metric unit of length equal to one ten billionth of a meter (or 0.0001 micron); used to specify wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation)

Holonyms ("nanometer" is a part of...):

micrometer; micron (a metric unit of length equal to one millionth of a meter)

 Context examples 

A human hair is about 60,000 nanometers in diameter, while a DNA molecule is between 2-12 nanometers wide.

(Nanometer, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Cytoplasmic filaments intermediate in diameter (about 10 nanometers) between the microfilaments and the microtubules.

(Intermediate Filament, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Hollow, cylindrical structures, with a diameter usually less than 5 nanometers.

(Nanotube, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The size range roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where many of the fundamental structures of biology are formed, composite materials may take on their distinctive characteristics, and many important physical phenomena are found.

(Nanoscale, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Such nanoscale objects — typically, though not exclusively, with dimensions smaller than 100 nanometers — can be useful by themselves or as part of larger devices containing multiple nanoscale objects.

(Nanotechnology, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

These spheres range in size from 2 to 50 nanometers and form within seconds.

(Nanosphere, NCI Thesaurus)

Systematic procedures which are utilized for the manipulation of materials at the nanoscale (i.e., less than 100 nanometers).

(Nanotechnology Techniques, NCI Thesaurus)

The production of small, stable particles whose size is measured in nanometers.

(Nanoparticle Production, NCI Thesaurus)

In comparison, a virus may have a diameter of around 100-300 nanometers (nm).

(Smartphone microscope detects nanoparticles and viruses, NIH)

The chromatin fiber has a thickness of about 30 nanometers and results from the folding of a linear array of nucleosomes (thickness about 10 nm) into a more compact fiber.

(Chromatin Fiber, NCI Thesaurus)