stere, metric unit of volume equal to one cubic metre, or 1,000 litres. The stere (from Greek stereos, “solid”) was originally defined by law and used in France in 1793, primarily as a measure for firewood. It is thus the metric counterpart of the cord, one standard cord (128 cubic feet of stacked wood) being equal to 3.625 steres. A stere is made up of 10 decisteres, and 100 steres make up a hectostere. Very large volumes may be expressed in kilosteres, equal to 1,000 steres.