litre, liter, L (litre)

Litre is the recommended spelling in Canada for the name of this measurement of liquid volume; liter is the American spelling.

• I used three litres of red wine in the sangria.

The symbol is an upper case L, without a period. Leave a full space between the quantity and the symbol L.

• If 1 L of gasoline costs $0.85, how many litres can Nassim get for $20?

As a general rule, both the number and the unit litre should be written out in full, or the numeral should be followed by a space and the symbol.

• The motorcycle needed just twelve litres (or 12 L) of gasoline.

For clarity in non-technical writing, however, it is acceptable to use the numeral with the unit written out in full.

• What was he going to do with more than 20 litres of paint?

When using the symbol L or the unit litre as a modifier, put a hyphen between the number and the modifier.

• Meg bought a 2.84-L (or 2.84-litre) container of grapefruit juice for the camping trip.

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