plural kelvins
: the base unit of temperature in the International System of Units that is defined by setting the fixed numerical value of the Boltzmann constant to be 1.380649 x 10–23 joules per kelvin and that is equal to 1/273.16 of the Kelvin scale temperature of the triple point of water
—abbreviation K
: relating to, conforming to, or having a thermometric scale on which the unit of measurement equals the Celsius degree and according to which absolute zero is 0 K, the equivalent of −273.15°C
Examples of kelvin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Douglas Natelson, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2024
Among these was cooling conventional silicon DRAM down to 77 kelvins and designing a glass bridge between the 77-K section and the main superconducting section, which operates at 4 K, with thin wires that allowed communication without thermal mixing.
—Anna Herr, IEEE Spectrum, 15 May 2024
In general, the range from warmest to coolest is warm white (2,700 kelvins and below), soft white (2,700–3,000 kelvins), bright or cool white (3,500–5,000 kelvins), and daylight (5,000-plus kelvins).
—Kat De Naoum, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Jan. 2024
The material in the accretion disk is about a million kelvins, but the corona is a billion kelvins.
—Michael Greshko, Quanta Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for kelvin 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
At the temperatures of our experiments, three kelvins up to 10 kelvins, this material is very much in the strange metal regime.
—Douglas Natelson, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2024
Among these was cooling conventional silicon DRAM down to 77 kelvins and designing a glass bridge between the 77-K section and the main superconducting section, which operates at 4 K, with thin wires that allowed communication without thermal mixing.
—Anna Herr, IEEE Spectrum, 15 May 2024
In general, the range from warmest to coolest is warm white (2,700 kelvins and below), soft white (2,700–3,000 kelvins), bright or cool white (3,500–5,000 kelvins), and daylight (5,000-plus kelvins).
—Kat De Naoum, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Jan. 2024
The material in the accretion disk is about a million kelvins, but the corona is a billion kelvins.
—Michael Greshko, Quanta Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for kelvin
Dictionary Entries Near kelvin
Cite this Entry
“Kelvin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kelvin. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
kelvin
1 of 2 noun
kel·vin
ˈkel-vən 
: a unit of temperature equal to 1/273.16 of the Kelvin scale temperature of the triple point of water
Kelvin
2 of 2 adjective
: relating to or having a temperature scale on which the unit of measurement is the same size as the Celsius degree and according to which absolute zero is 0 K (-273.15°C)
—abbreviation K
Etymology
Adjective
named for William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824–1907), British mathematician and physicist
Medical Definition
kelvin
1 of 2 noun
kel·vin
ˈkel-vən
: the base unit of temperature in the International System of Units that is equal to 1/273.16 of the Kelvin scale temperature of the triple point of water and also to the Celsius degree
Kelvin
2 of 2 adjective
: relating to, conforming to, or being the Kelvin scale
Biographical Definition
Kelvin
biographical name
Kel·vin
ˈkel-vən
1st Baron 1824–1907 William Thomson British mathematician and physicist
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share