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kB

kB

1 3.5
A unit of digital information of about 1,000 bytes used to measure computer file size
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : kB
  • The decision is available here (PDF file, 225.8 kB, in Bahasa Indonesian).

Examples

  • The size of the homepages ranged from 341 kB (eurekalert.org) to 9.4 MB (laughingsquid.com).

    Blog text (4)
  • The first ARM-based computer was the Acorn Archimedes, a mid-80s computer with 512kB of RAM and no hard drive.

    Blog text (7)
  • See how the more things were added, the bigger the file got from 11 to 20, then to 29 KB.

    Blog text (13)
  • Download the complete project associated with this post: FuelView.zip (330kb).

    Blog text (5)
  • We were writing with MS Word, and I remember the first program was on a 400 kB floppy disk (unbelievable, it was able to make serial letters).

    Blog text (16)
  • Thus, BaP-exposed HCC cells were more capable of recruiting vascular endothelial cells and enhancing angiogenesis. NF-kB signaling.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The system used 24 I/O ports, 32 kB of RAM, and 2 MB of memory on an EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory).

    Academic text (2001)
  • As a versatile transcription factor, NF-KB has been reported to induce MMP2 and MMP9 expression to promote HCC metastasis (Li et al. 2011).

    Academic text (2015)
  • The document size is approximately 250 kB, which is suitable for email sharing.

  • After downloading the file, I realized it was only 100 kB in size, making it quick to transfer.

Synonyms

KB
vskB
  • Specialized
4 3.0

A unit for measuring the size of digital files or memory, about 1,000 bytes

is the standard unit form often shown with different letter case
kilobyte
vskB
  • Specialized
4 3.6

A small measure of computer data, about 1,000 bytes

is defined more loosely as about 1000 or 1024 bytes
K
vskB
  • Specialized
3 3.5

A unit of computer data equal to about 1,000 bytes

is the common unit name rather than the single-letter symbol
KiB
vskB
  • Specialized
7.6

A unit for measuring computer storage equal to 1024 bytes

is used more generally and allows about 1000 or 1024 bytes
kibibyte
vskB
  • Specialized
7.6

A unit of computer data equal to 1024 bytes

is less strict and can refer to about 1000 or 1024 bytes

How Big

PB
  • Specialized
4 6.9
TB
  • Specialized
5 3.5
GB
  • Specialized
77 3.2
Mb
  • Specialized
2 3.8
kB
  • Specialized
1 3.5

Surface Forms

kB singular
kBs plural

Morphology

kB = byte (transparent) = k + byte + k

Formed by the SI prefix 'k' (kilo, thousand) added to 'byte', so the meaning is directly derived though computing usage sometimes treats 'k' as 1,024 causing ambiguity.

Etymology

KB is a short form of kilo and byte. Kilo means 'thousand', as in kilogram or kilometer, and byte is a unit of digital data named after a 'bite'. So kB usually means about a thousand bytes and is used to show small file sizes, although in some computer contexts it is counted as 1,024 bytes because computers count in groups of two.