What are the units for m in the average kinetic energy formula? For the equation $E_k=\frac{1}{2}mu^2$ what does the $m$ variable represent?

I would say mass but the textbook does not say explicitly that it is anything.
$$\ce{Kinetic ~Energy ~= ~1/2 (mass~of ~the~object~ [kg]) * (velocity~of~the~object~[m/sec])^2}$$