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kilogram

kilogram

28 1.0
A unit for measuring mass equal to one thousand grams
  • noun
  • /ˈkɪləˌɡræm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : kilogramo
  • The recipe calls for exactly one kilogram of flour to make the bread.
  • weight in kilograms
  • weighing 1,000 kilograms
  • 100 kilograms

What's heavier, a kilogram of steel or a kilogram of feathers?

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Examples

  • The buoy is internally ballasted with 30 kilograms of cast lead poured inside the hull.

    Academic text (1994)
  • What's heavier, a kilogram of steel or a kilogram of feathers?

  • I also learned that the kilogram is part of the International System of Units.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The medical doctor's salary in North Korea is less than a dollar a year, so you cannot buy a kilogram of rice.

  • Milk yield was recorded in kilograms using a weighing scale.

    Academic text (2013)
  • BMI was defined as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The heaviest cabbage ever found was 62.71 kilograms.

  • Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight (kilograms) divided by height (meters squared).

    Academic text (2015)
  • He lost two kilograms after a month of exercising regularly.

  • The shipping cost increases for every kilogram over the weight limit.

Synonyms

kilo
vskilogram
75 1.0

A measure of weight equal to one thousand grams

is the formal SI name rather than an informal spoken term
kg
vskilogram
  • Specialized
41 1.0

A unit of weight equal to 1000 grams

is the full unit name rather than its abbreviated symbol

Compounds

6.3

A unit of heat to raise one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius, often used for food energy

kilogram-meter
  • Archaic
7.3

Work done when lifting a one kilogram mass one meter

How Heavy

tonne
  • UK
15 2.4
kilogram
  • Specialized
28 1.0
hectogram
  • Specialized
6.5
decagram
  • Specialized
1 6.3
gram
  • Specialized
268 1.0
milligram
  • Specialized
142 2.3

Surface Forms

kilogram singular
kilograms plural

Morphology

kilogram = gram (transparent) = kilo + gram

The meaning is directly derived from the productive prefix 'kilo-' (thousand) combined with the known unit 'gram', so learners can easily infer 'one thousand grams'.

Etymology

The word kilogram comes from Greek parts kilo- meaning 'thousand', as in kilometre, and gram meaning 'a small weight'. So a kilogram is 'one thousand grams' and is the basic unit of mass.