kilometer

noun

ki·​lo·​me·​ter kə-ˈlä-mə-tər 

ki-;

ˈki-lə-ˌmē-tər 

ˈkē-lə-

: a metric unit of length equal to 1000 meters see Metric System Table

How do you pronounce kilometer?: Usage Guide

In North American speech kilometer is most often pronounced with primary stress on the second syllable. This pronunciation is also heard frequently in British speech. Those who object to second syllable stress say that the first syllable should be stressed in accord with the stress patterns of centimeter, millimeter, etc. However, the pronunciation of kilometer does not parallel that of other metric compounds. From 1828 to 1841 Noah Webster indicated only second syllable stress, and his successor added a first syllable stress variant in the first Merriam-Webster dictionary of 1847. Thus, both pronunciations are venerable. Most scientists use second syllable stress, although first syllable stress seems to occur with a higher rate of frequency among scientists than among nonscientists.

Did you know?

A kilometer is equal to about 62/100 of a mile, and a mile is equal to about 1.61 kilometers. The U.S. has been slow to adopt metric measures, which are used almost everywhere else in the world. Though our car speedometers are often marked in both miles and kilometers, the U.S. and Great Britain are practically the only developed nations that still show miles rather than kilometers on their road signs. But even in the U.S., footraces are usually measured in meters or kilometers, like the Olympic races. Runners normally abbreviate kilometer to K: "a 5K race" (3.1 miles), "the 10K run" (6.2 miles), and so on.

Examples of kilometer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Go down 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers), and the hot, dense gas begins to behave strangely. —Benjamin Roulston, Discover Magazine, 7 Nov. 2024

Jorge Castellanos/Sopa Images/Sipa USA/Reuters The budget is helping the city transition to electric vehicles, create net-zero construction sites, expand cycling lanes by 100 kilometers (62 miles), and install carbon-capture technology. —Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Nov. 2024

Unfortunately, that’s 220 miles or 354 kilometers away. —John Koetsier, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024

Earlier Thursday, the typhoon’s eye blew about 110 kilometers (68 miles) east of the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes, a cluster of islands and islets of about 19,000 people. —Associated Press, TIME, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French kilomètre, from kilo- + mètre meter

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

kilometer

noun

ki·​lo·​me·​ter kə-ˈläm-ət-ər  kil-ˈäm- 

ˈkil-ə-ˌmēt-ər

: a metric unit of length equal to 1000 meters see metric system

Medical Definition

kilometer

noun

ki·​lo·​me·​ter

variants or chiefly British kilometre

ˈkil-ə-ˌmēt-ər  kə-ˈläm-ət-ər 

: 1000 meters