mL

Millilitre, abbreviated mL, is a unit of volume in the metric system. It is defined as one thousandth of a liter and is commonly used to measure small quantities of liquids. By definition, 1 mL = 0.001 L and 1 mL = 1 cubic centimeter (cm^3). The prefix milli- denotes a factor of one thousandth, and the liter is defined as the volume of one cubic decimeter, so 1 L = 1000 mL. In practice, these equivalences mean that measuring devices labeled in milliliters are typically measuring cubic centimeters as well. For water at around 4°C, one milliliter has a mass of roughly one gram, illustrating the close relationship between volume and mass for liquids of standard density.

The milliliter is widely used in medicine, pharmacology, chemistry, biology, and cooking. It is the standard unit for many dosing instructions and for measuring small volumes in laboratory experiments. In laboratory settings, precise volume measurements are achieved with instruments such as graduated pipettes, syringes, or burettes calibrated in milliliters. The symbol is typically written as mL; some sources use ml, but mL is preferred in most scientific contexts to avoid confusion with the digit 1. The liter (L) is an official SI unit for volume, and the milliliter is a commonly used subunit.