kilometer

noun

ki·lo·me·ter | \ kə-ˈlä-mə-tər

, ki-; ˈki-lə-ˌmē-tər

Definition of kilometer

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

How do you pronounce kilometer?: Usage Guide Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about kilometer

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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

Overall traffic, measured by revenue earned per kilometer, rose 6.7% in July, Cathay said. — Fortune, "Amid Protests, Hong Kong-Based Cathay Pacific Airways Warns of ‘Significant’ Revenue Strain," 21 Aug. 2019 On September 22, 2017, IceCube, a neutrino detector comprising 5,160 sensors embedded within one cubic kilometer of ice below the South Pole, detected neutrinos from a blazar. — Anil Ananthaswamy, Scientific American, "Faced with a Data Deluge, Astronomers Turn to Automation," 21 Aug. 2019 In 1962, two launches failed, scattering radioactive debris on the 1-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometer) island. — Washington Post, "At a glance: Weapons sites converted into wildlife refuges," 18 Aug. 2019 Ice flows are melting faster than average rates observed over the last three decades, losing an additional 20,000 square kilometers (12,427 miles) of cover per day -- an area about the size of Wales. — Bloomberg News, cleveland.com, "Arctic summer melt shows ice is disappearing faster than normal," 19 July 2019 The beam travels through 295 kilometers of rock to the Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) detector, a gigantic pit buried 1 kilometer underground and filled with 50,000 tons (about 13 million gallons) of ultrapure water. — Quanta Magazine, "Neutrinos Suggest Solution to Mystery of Universe’s Existence," 12 Dec. 2017 Saturday's main protest takes place in Mong Kok -- one of the most crowded places in the world, with population densities of up to 130,000 people per square kilometer (52,000 per square mile) -- from 2.30 p.m. local time. — Ben Westcott, CNN, "Hong Kong protesters to march in Mong Kok, one of the world's most densely populated areas," 2 Aug. 2019 Nationally, the ministry says, nearly half of Spanish municipalities now have a population density of below 12.5 inhabitants per square kilometer—a ratio that the EU qualifies as at risk of complete depopulation. — Phil Boucher, Fortune, "Want to Buy a Spanish Village? This Real Estate Agent Has 400 to Sell," 14 July 2019 Starting next year, new passenger cars sold in Europe will have to emit no more than 95 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. — William Boston, WSJ, "EU Auto Makers Have to Sell More Electric Cars as New Emission Targets Loom," 21 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'kilometer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for kilometer

kilometer

noun

English Language Learners Definition of kilometer

: a unit of length equal to 1,000 meters

See the full definition for kilometer in the English Language Learners Dictionary

kilometer

noun

ki·lo·me·ter | \ ki-ˈlä-mə-tər

, ˈki-lə-ˌmē-tər\

Kids Definition of kilometer

: a metric unit of length equal to 1000 meters

kilometer

noun

ki·lo·me·ter

variants: or chiefly British kilometre \ ˈkil-ə-ˌmēt-ər

, kə-ˈläm-ət-ər

Medical Definition of kilometer

: 1000 meters

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kilometer

Definition of kilometer

How do you pronounce kilometer?: Usage Guide

Did You Know?

Examples of kilometer in a Sentence

First Known Use of kilometer

History and Etymology for kilometer

English Language Learners Definition of kilometer

Kids Definition of kilometer

Medical Definition of kilometer

kilometer

Definition of kilometer

How do you pronounce kilometer?: Usage Guide

Did You Know?

Examples of kilometer in a Sentence

First Known Use of kilometer

History and Etymology for kilometer

English Language Learners Definition of kilometer

Kids Definition of kilometer

Medical Definition of kilometer

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