WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
for′mula u′nit, [Chem.]
- Chemistry(of an ionic compound that does not form molecules, as most salts) the chemical formula with the least number of elements out of the set of empirical formulas having the same proportion of ions as elements:NaCl is the formula unit for the ionic compound sodium chloride.
'formula unit' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):