Meaning & use
hectogram
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountabletechnicalspecialist
A unit of mass in the metric system equal to one hundred grams.
Grammar: Countable; use "a hectogram" or "hectograms", and abbreviate it as "hg" in writing.
Patterns
- a hectogram of something
- measured in hectograms
- ten hectograms
The recipe lists the butter in hectograms rather than grams.
One hectogram is the same as a tenth of a kilogram.
The old scale measured in hectograms, which confused foreign customers.
Word forms
| plural | hectograms |
|---|
Common combinations
- a hectogram of flour
- The label said a hectogram of flour, which is 100 grams.
- measured in hectograms
- In that market, cheese is measured in hectograms.
- per hectogram
- The price per hectogram was clearly marked.
- convert grams to hectograms
- Divide by a hundred to convert grams to hectograms.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hg
- The written abbreviation for hectogram, used on labels and in tables.
- 100 grams
- The everyday way of saying the same amount, and much clearer to most listeners.
Word family
- gram noun
- The base metric unit of mass; a hectogram is a hundred of these.
- kilogram noun
- A thousand grams, the unit people normally use for larger amounts.
- hecto- prefix
- A prefix meaning one hundred, as in hectoliter and hectometer.
- hectoliter noun
- A unit of volume equal to one hundred liters.
Commonly confused: hectogram or hectare? hectogram or centigram?
hectogram vs hectare
A hectare measures land area (10,000 square meters), not weight, though the two words start the same way.
hectogram vs centigram
A centigram is one hundredth of a gram, so it is a hundred times smaller than a hectogram.
Practice
How many grams are there in a hectogram?
Choose one answer.
The prefix hecto- means one hundred, so a hectogram is 100 grams. Option 0 is a decagram, option 2 is a kilogram, and option 3 is ten kilograms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hectogram”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.