kilogram

[ kil-uh-gram ]

noun

1. a unit of mass equal to 1,000 grams: the basic unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI). Up until 2019 the kilogram was defined as equal to the mass of an international prototype, a platinum-iridium cylinder kept in Sèvres, France. The kilogram has since been redefined in terms of universal physical constants, including the speed of light and Planck's constant. : kg
2. a unit of force and weight, equal to the force that produces an acceleration of 9.80665 meters per second per second when acting on a mass of one kilogram. : kg

kilogram

/ ˈkɪləʊˌɡræm /

noun

1. one thousand grams
2. the basic SI unit of mass, equal to the mass of the international prototype held by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures. One kilogram is equivalent to 2.204 62 pounds

kilogram

/ kĭl′ə-grăm′ /

1. The basic unit of mass in the metric system, equal to 1,000 grams (2.2 pounds).
2. See Table at measurement

kilogram

1. A unit of mass in the metric system , equal to one thousand grams . The weight of a one-kilogram mass is slightly over two pounds.

Word History and Origins

Origin of kilogram¹

From the French word kilogramme, dating back to 1790–1800. See kilo-, -gram ²

Example Sentences

With a single kilogram of uranium yielding some 20,000 times as much energy as a kilogram of coal, it seemed like the future.

From BBC

Within the European Union, the average student produces 19.3 kilograms of food waste on an annual basis, around 9% of total food waste.

From Salon

A typical large tree can suck as much as 40 kilograms of carbon dioxide out of the air over the course of a year.

From Los Angeles Times

Using sledge hammers, they collected hundreds of kilograms of rock and took them back to labs for analysis.

From BBC

The standard way of categorising people's weight is by calculating their body mass index, or BMI, which means dividing an adult's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres.

From BBC