kilo

1 of 3

noun

ki·​lo ˈkē-(ˌ)lō 

also

ˈki- 

plural kilos

: a unit of mass or weight equaling one thousand grams or approximately 2.2 pounds : kilogram

Each sack weighs 50 kilos.

Did you know … that it takes a lobster between five and seven years to grow to a weight of half a kilo, the minimum size it should reach before being fished?

—Food & Drink

When he finally strips off the kilos of gold enveloping his body, Deion is as light as a feather.

—Curry Kirkpatrick

Gathering in Versailles, west of Paris, governments are expected on Friday to approve plans to instead use a scientific formulation to define the exact mass of a kilo.

—John Leicester

Kilo

2 of 3

communications code word

—used as a code word for the letter k

kilo-

3 of 3

combining form

: thousand

kiloton

Examples of kilo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Hard Science Glass beads in lunar soil reveal ancient asteroid bombardments on the Moon and Earth In 2020, scientists took more than a kilo of moon rock and soil back to Earth for testing. —Big Think, 24 June 2024

Authorities reportedly seized six firearms, including one that had been reported stolen, more than a kilo of cocaine, 1,300 bags of heroin and 142 grams of raw heroin, according to Bessette. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 21 June 2024

Among the searches, agent Paul Van Wie said, were instances when Menendez researched the worth of a gram, an ounce and a kilo of gold. —CBS News, 20 June 2024

Considering that more than a thousand policemen and military personnel had been deployed, the results of the operation seemed modest: fifty-two kilos of drugs, a few weapons, and a lineup of detainees. —Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Combining form

French, modification of Greek chilioi

First Known Use

Noun

1870, in the meaning defined above

Communications Code Word

1952, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

kilo

1 of 2 noun

ki·​lo ˈkē-(ˌ)lō 

plural kilos

: kilogram

kilo-

2 of 2 combining form

: thousand

kiloton

Etymology

Combining form

derived from Greek chilioi "thousand"