unit of mass or weight that is used especially in the centimetre-gram-second system of measurement (see the International System of Units). One gram is equal to 0.001 kg. The gram is very nearly equal (it was originally intended to be equal; see metric system) to the mass of one cubic cm of pure water at 4 °C (39.2 °F), the temperature at which water reaches its maximum density under normal terrestrial pressures. The gram of force is equal to the weight of a gram of mass under standard gravity. For greater precision, the mass may be weighed at a point at which the acceleration due to gravity is 980.655 cm/sec².