types:
in,
inch
a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot
foot,
ft
a linear unit of length equal to 12 inches or a third of a yard
footer
(used only in combinations) the height or length of something in feet
pace,
yard
a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
yarder
(used only in combinations) the height or length of something in yards
furlong
a unit of length equal to 220 yards
miler
(used only in combinations) the length of something in miles
league
an obsolete unit of distance of variable length (usually 3 miles)
ligne
a linear unit (1/40 inch) used to measure diameter of buttons
nail
a former unit of length for cloth equal to 1/16 of a yard
archine
a Russian unit of length (71 cm)
coss,
kos
(in India) a unit of length having different values in different localities
vara
a Spanish unit of length (about a yard) having different values in different localities
verst
a Russian unit of length (1.067 km)
cubit
an ancient unit of length based on the length of the forearm
fistmele
about seven inches; the breadth of a fist with the thumb stuck out (used especially in archery to give the correct distance of the string from the bow)
head
the length or height based on the size of a human or animal head
lea
a unit of length of thread or yarn
li
Chinese distance measure; approximately 0.5 kilometers
link
a unit of length equal to 1/100 of a chain
mesh
the number of openings per linear inch of a screen; measures size of particles
mil
a unit of length equal to one thousandth of an inch; used to specify thickness (e.g., of sheets or wire)
Roman mile,
mile
an ancient Roman unit of length equivalent to 1620 yards
Roman pace
an ancient Roman unit of length (4.85 English feet) measured as the distance from the heel of one foot to the heel of the same foot when next it touches the ground
geometric pace
a modern version of the Roman pace now taken to be 5 feet
military pace
the length of a single step in marching (taken to be 30 inches for quick time or 36 inches for double time)
palm
a linear unit based on the length or width of the human hand
span
a unit of length based on the width of the expanded human hand (usually taken as 9 inches)
survey mile
a U.S. unit of measure equal to 1609.347 meters; derived from the use of 39.37 inches as the conversion for one meter
fathom,
fthm
a linear unit of measurement (equal to 6 feet) for water depth
point
a linear unit used to measure the size of type; approximately 1/72 inch
en,
nut
half the width of an em
cicero
a linear unit of the size of type slightly larger than an em
hand
a unit of length equal to 4 inches; used in measuring horses
light year,
light-year
the distance that light travels in a vacuum in 1 year; 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers
light hour
the distance light travels in a vacuum in one hour; approximately one billion kilometers
light minute
the distance light travels in a vacuum in one minute; approximately 18 million kilometers
light second
the distance light travels in a vacuum in one second; approximately 300,000 kilometers
AU,
Astronomical Unit
a unit of length used for distances within the solar system; equal to the mean distance between the Earth and the Sun (approximately 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers)
parsec,
secpar
a unit of astronomical length based on the distance from Earth at which stellar parallax is 1 second of arc; equivalent to 3.262 light years
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
m,
meter,
metre
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
mile,
sea mile
a former British unit of length once used in navigation; equivalent to 6,000 feet (1828.8 meters)