kilometer

noun

ki·​lo·​me·​ter kə-ˈlä-mə-tər How to pronounce kilometer (audio)
ki-;
ˈki-lə-ˌmē-tər How to pronounce kilometer (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Volcanic materials—including smoldering rocks, lava, and hot, thumb-sized gravel and ash—were ejected up to 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater on November 8, according to Hadi Wijaya. Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024 By the time the eruption subsided in mid-July, Tambora had expelled more material than any volcanic event in recorded history, with ash reaching as far as the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal, thousands of kilometers away. Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024 The rebels vowed to advance further south, to the city of Homs, another major city about 165 kilometers (100 miles) from the capital Damascus. Mostafa Salem and Eyad Kourdi, CNN, 5 Dec. 2024 Some are tens of kilometers across or larger, while others are only tens of meters or smaller. Toshi Hirabayashi, Discover Magazine, 5 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for kilometer 

Word History

Etymology

French kilomètre, from kilo- + mètre meter

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kilometer was in 1810

Dictionary Entries Near kilometer

Cite this Entry

“Kilometer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kilometer. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

kilometer

noun
ki·​lo·​me·​ter kə-ˈläm-ət-ər How to pronounce kilometer (audio) kil-ˈäm- How to pronounce kilometer (audio)
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
: 1000 meters

More from Merriam-Webster on kilometer

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