kilohertz

noun

ki·​lo·​hertz ˈki-lə-ˌhərts 

ˈkē-lə-,

-ˌherts 

plural kilohertz

: 1000 hertz

Did you know?

If your favorite AM radio station has a frequency of 680 kilohertz (kHz), that means the station's transmitter is oscillating (vibrating) at a rate of 680,000 cycles per second (i.e., 680,000 times a second). A related term is megahertz (MHz), meaning "millions of cycles per second". Shortwave radio operates between 5.9 and 26.1 MHz, and the FM radio band operates between 88 and 108 MHz. Garage-door openers work at about 40 MHz, baby monitors work at 49 MHz, and so on. The terms hertz, kilohertz and megahertz honor the great German physicist Heinrich Hertz, the first person to broadcast and receive radio waves.

Examples of kilohertz in a Sentence

a frequency of 80 kilohertz

Recent Examples on the Web

Lindsey says that applying DAS to 50 kilometers of fiber—processing each 10-meter-long segment as a separate channel, sampled at 1 kilohertz—produces about a terabyte of data per day. —IEEE Spectrum, 14 Mar. 2024

The buzzing appeared as a strong signal at 1.33 kilohertz (kHz) via the fiber optic sensing. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 30 Nov. 2023

This leads to unwanted noise in the entire AM band, especially in the lower portion (between 500 to 700 kilohertz), that comes across as a hum or a whine. —IEEE Spectrum, 28 June 2023

Human ears are geared to pick up sounds with frequencies of up to about 16 kilohertz, but the sounds that plants produce are up in the 40-80 kilohertz range. —Jackie Appel, Popular Mechanics, 30 Mar. 2023

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

kilohertz

noun

ki·​lo·​hertz ˈkil-ə-ˌhərts 

ˈkē-lə-,

-ˌhe(ə)rts

: 1000 hertz

Medical Definition

kilohertz

noun

ki·​lo·​hertz ˈkil-ə-ˌhərts  ˈkē-lə- 

-ˌhe(ə)rts

: 1000 hertz