kilo

1 of 3

noun

ki·​lo ˈkē-(ˌ)lō 

also

ˈki- 

plural kilos

: a unit of mass or weight equaling one thousand grams or approximately 2.2 pounds : kilogram

Each sack weighs 50 kilos.

Did you know … that it takes a lobster between five and seven years to grow to a weight of half a kilo, the minimum size it should reach before being fished?

—Food & Drink

When he finally strips off the kilos of gold enveloping his body, Deion is as light as a feather.

—Curry Kirkpatrick

Gathering in Versailles, west of Paris, governments are expected on Friday to approve plans to instead use a scientific formulation to define the exact mass of a kilo.

—John Leicester

Kilo

2 of 3

communications code word

—used as a code word for the letter k

kilo-

3 of 3

combining form

: thousand

kiloton

Examples of kilo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The retailer shipped in almost three times more product, at least 980,000 kilos, in the prior 12 months through Sept. 30, 2023, the import data shows. —Richa Naidu, USA TODAY, 6 Nov. 2024

When the liquid evaporates, 11 kilos of salt are harvested from the kitchen floor. —Judy Berman, TIME, 1 Nov. 2024

In a later search of the daycare, investigators recovered drugs and several kilo presses used to package narcotics into kilo-sized bricks. —Emily Palmer, People.com, 30 Oct. 2024

In May 1999, the Justice Department said in a 2010 news release, Cárdenas Guillén threatened to kill a sheriff’s deputy from Cameron County, Texas, who was working in an undercover capacity with ICE after the deputy refused to deliver a load of almost 1,000 kilos of marijuana. —Julia Ainsley, NBC News, 30 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Combining form

French, modification of Greek chilioi

First Known Use

Noun

1870, in the meaning defined above

Communications Code Word

1952, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

kilo

1 of 2 noun

ki·​lo ˈkē-(ˌ)lō 

plural kilos

: kilogram

kilo-

2 of 2 combining form

: thousand

kiloton

Etymology

Combining form

derived from Greek chilioi "thousand"