K

¹

or k

[ key ]

noun

, plural K's or Ks, k's or ks.

1. the eleventh letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
2. any sound represented by the letter K or k, as in bilk, kit, or sick.
3. something having the shape of a K .
4. a written or printed representation of the letter K or k.
5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter K or k.

K

²

abbreviation for

1. the number 1000:

   The salary offered is $20K.

2. kilometer, especially in a footrace or wheelchair race on a road or track:

   She’s training to run her first 10K this summer.

K

³

abbreviation for

1. Chess. king.
2. Physics. Kelvin.
3. Music. Köchel listing.
4. kindergarten:

   a K–12 boarding school.

5. Real Estate. kitchen.

K

⁴

Symbol.

1. the eleventh in order or in a series.
2. Computers.
   1. the number 1024 or 2 10 :

      A binary 32K memory has 32,768 positions.

   2. kilobyte ( def ).
3. Baseball. strikeout; strikeouts.
4. Physics. kaon ( def ).
5. Biochemistry. lysine ( def ).
6. Chemistry. potassium ( def ).

k

⁵

Symbol.

1. Mathematics. a vector on the z-axis, having length 1 unit.
2. Boltzmann constant.

K

⁶

abbreviation for

, Ecology.

1. carrying capacity.

k.

⁷

abbreviation for

1. Electricity. capacity.
2. karat.
3. kilogram; kilograms.
4. Chess. king.
5. knight.
6. knot.
7. kopeck.

K.

⁸

abbreviation for

1. kip; kips.
2. Knight.
3. kwacha.

K

¹

symbol for

1. kelvin(s)
2. chess king
3. chem potassium
4. physics kaon
5. currency
   1. kina
   2. kip
   3. kopeck
   4. kwacha
   5. kyat
6. one thousand
7. computing
   1. a unit of 1024 words, bits, or bytes
   2. (not in technical usage) 1000

abbreviation for

1. Cambodia (international car registration)

K

²

abbreviation for

1. Köchel: indicating the serial number in the catalogue (1862) of the works of Mozart made by Ludwig von Köchel (1800–77)

k

³

/ keɪ /

noun

1. the 11th letter and 8th consonant of the modern English alphabet
2. a speech sound represented by this letter, usually a voiceless velar stop, as in kitten
3. See five Ks

k

⁴

symbol for

1. kilo(s)
2. maths the unit vector along the z-axis

Word History and Origins

Origin of K¹

Abbreviation of kilo- K ²fordef 1; abbreviation of kilometer ( def ) K ²fordef 2

Origin of K²

K ⁴def 6 from German Kalium

Word History and Origins

Origin of K¹

(for sense 3) from New Latin kalium ; (for sense 6) from kilo- ; (for sense 8) from Kampuchea