km

1 1.0

A measure of distance equal to 1,000 meters

noun

: km

The nearest gas station is located 5 km down the road from our house.

Examples

She ran 10 km every morning to stay fit and improve her stamina.
The track is 2 kms from here.

A Yank at Oxford (1938)
I can estimate the position of aircraft to within five kms.

Black Eagle (1988)
The randevous point be 50 or 100 kms away and we would have to walk.

Countdown to Zero (2010)
13,800,000 square kms of ice.

9 Songs (2004)
I traveled 8000 kms just to see.

A Yank at Oxford (1938)
FLINT, MICHIGAN 85 KM NORTH OF DETROIT

Battleground (2012)
JEWELL MT. HIKE WASHINGTON: 8 KM

Infinite Storm (2022)
GULFSIDE HIKE MT. WASHINGTON: 2,2 KM

Infinite Storm (2022)
NASHVILLE 17,7 KM

Elvis (1979)

Synonyms

kilometer

vskm

572 1.8

A unit of length equal to 1,000 meters

is the short written form used instead of the full name

klick

vskm

Slang

23 9.8

An informal word for one kilometer often used by soldiers

is the standard formal term used in measurement rather than slang

Compounds

L/100 km

Australian

6.5

The number of liters of fuel a vehicle uses to travel one hundred kilometers

Surface Forms

km singular

kms plural

Etymology

Km is short for kilometre, made of kilo- meaning 'thousand', which you see in kilogram, and metre meaning 'measure', like the English meter. So a kilometre is 'a thousand meters', equal to 1,000 meters.