Term: base unit https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.B00610 Definition: Unit of measurement of a base quantity in a given system of quantities. By international agreement, a set of seven dimensionally independent units form the SI base units: the metre, kilogram, second, ampere, kelvin, mole and candela. Related Terms: 1) base quantity (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.B00609). 2) metre (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.M03884). 3) kilogram (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.K03391). 4) second (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.S05513). 5) ampere (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.A00300). 6) kelvin (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.K03374). 7) mole (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.M03980). 8) candela (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C00787). 9) unit (<em>of measurement</em>) (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.U06561). Source: PAC, 1986, 58, 1405. 'Recommendations for the presentation of thermodynamic and related data in biology (Recommendations 1985)' on page 1406 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac198658101405) Citation: 'base unit' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.B00610 License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms. Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.