Meaning & use
decigram
Last updated
UK/ˈdɛsɪɡræm/
US/ˈdɛsəɡræm/
Meaning
nouncountabletechnical
A metric unit of weight equal to one tenth of a gram, or one hundred milligrams.
Grammar: Countable, with the plural for amounts other than one: ten decigrams.
Patterns
- a decigram of something
- decigrams per something
The recipe asks for one decigram of saffron, about a pinch.
A decigram is the same as a hundred milligrams.
The balance in the lab measures samples down to a fraction of a decigram.
Word forms
| plural | decigrams |
|---|---|
| symbol | dg |
Common combinations
- a decigram of
- Add a decigram of salt to the sample.
- measure in decigrams
- Chemists sometimes measure tiny samples in decigrams.
- one decigram
- One decigram is a tenth of a gram.
- decigram scale
- The pharmacy used a decigram scale.
Synonyms and how they differ
- 100 milligrams
- A hundred milligrams equals one decigram exactly, but it is the form more usually seen in medicine and food labels.
- tenth of a gram
- Tenth of a gram is a plain-language way to say the same, useful when the unit is unfamiliar.
- dg
- Dg is the written symbol, used in tables and formulas rather than in speech.
Word family
Commonly confused: decigram or decagram?
decigram vs decagram
A decagram is ten grams, while a decigram is only a tenth of a gram. The prefixes deca- and deci- are easily mixed up.
Practice
How many decigrams are in one gram?
Choose one answer.
Deci- means a tenth, so a gram holds ten decigrams. One hundred would be centigrams.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “decigram”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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