kilogram

UK/ˈkɪləɡɹæm/US/ˈkɪləɡɹæm/

nounA2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,466 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: kilograms

A kilogram is a thousand grams, about the weight of a bag of sugar. Two kilograms, per kilogram, a kilogram of flour.

It was the last unit defined by a physical object, a platinum cylinder near Paris, until 2019, when it was redefined in terms of a constant of nature. Britain spells it kilogramme as well, and everybody says kilo.

Definitions of kilogram

1nounkilogramA thousand grams, about the weight of a bag of sugar.A2+
“The baby weighed just over three kilograms when she was born.”

kilogram is a unit.

Where it comes from

French kilogramme is kilo-, a thousand, from Greek chilioi, plus gramme.

French
kilogramme
English, today
kilogram

French kilogramme. by surface analysis, kilo- + gram.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Numbers & Measurement

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kilogram in the wild

The word "kilogram" is formed from the combination of the metric prefix kilo- (meaning one thousand) and gram; it is commonly shortened to "kilo" (plural "kilos").
Kilogram
A properly equipped metrology laboratory can calibrate a mass measurement instrument such as a Kibble balance as a primary standard for the kilogram mass.
Kilogram
The SI system derives from the older metre-kilogram-second (MKS) system of units, though the definitions of the base units have evolved over time.
Metric system
The kilogram per cubic metre is the unit of density in the International System of Units (SI).
Kilogram per cubic metre
By the late 19th century, there was an effort to make the base unit the kilogram and the gram a derived unit.
Gram

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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