Measurement

In physics and engineering, measurement is the activity of comparing physical quantities of real-world objects and events. Established standard objects and events are used as units, and the measurement results in a given number for the relationship between the item under study and the referenced unit of measurement.

For example, the unit for length might be a well-known person's foot, and the length of a boat can be given as the number of times that person's foot would fit the length of the boat. The history of measurements is a topic within the History of Science and Technology. The meter was standardized as the unit for length after the French revolution, and has since been adopted all over Europe.