kiloton

noun

ki·​lo·​ton ˈki-lə-ˌtən 

ˈkē-lə-,

 also  -ˌtän

1

: 1000 tons

2

: an explosive force equivalent to that of 1000 tons of TNT

Examples of kiloton in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Those older bombs, which struck the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, packed the equivalent of 15 and 21 kilotons of TNT, respectively. —Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 21 Mar. 2023

Read more about it in the Foreign Affairs archive. 1951: Nuclear Testing at Nevada Site Begins A one kiloton bomb is dropped on Frenchman Flat, a reservation that serves as a U.S. national security site. —Foreign Affairs, 26 Dec. 2016

At the Super-Kamiokande detector, Sullivan says only about 10 neutrinos per day appeared to interact with the 20 kilotons of water. —Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 26 Aug. 2010

Shein, for its part, puts out thousands of new styles a day — inconceivable kilotons of cheap, essentially disposable clothes produced in response to the most flitting tremors of consumer demand. —Jonah Weiner, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

kiloton

noun

ki·​lo·​ton ˈkil-ə-ˌtən 

ˈkē-lə-,

 also  -ˌtän

1

: 1000 tons

2

: an explosive force equivalent to that of 1000 tons of TNT