kilo

/'ki:lou/

Thân thiện

A woman buys a kilo of apples at the market.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A unit of mass: A "kilo" is a common abbreviation for a kilogram, which is a base unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand grams.
   • A prefix meaning one thousand: In the metric system, "kilo-" is a prefix denoting a factor of one thousand.

Usage

• The word "kilo" is an informal, spoken abbreviation. In formal writing, "kilogram" or the full prefix "kilo-" is preferred.
• It is used to refer to a specific weight or to indicate a thousand units of a measurement.

Examples

• Noun (as a unit of mass):
  • I need to buy two kilos of apples for the recipe.
  • The package weighs about five kilos.
• Noun (as a prefix):
  • The race is ten kilometers long. (Here, "kilo-" is part of the compound word "kilometer". The standalone word "kilo" itself is not used this way; see Advanced Usage.)

Advanced Usage

• "Kilo" as a standalone noun: Almost exclusively refers to a kilogram in everyday contexts (e.g., food, body weight).
• The prefix "kilo-": When attached to other units, it multiplies them by 1,000. For example: kilowatt (kW), kilojoule (kJ), kilobyte (kB). The standalone word "kilo" is not used to mean "one thousand" by itself; it must be part of a compound word.

Variants and Related Words

• Kilogram (kg) (n): The full, formal term for the unit of mass.
• Kilometer (km) (n): A unit of length equal to one thousand meters.
• Kilowatt (kW) (n): A unit of power equal to one thousand watts.
• Kilobyte (kB) (n): A unit of digital information, historically equal to 1,024 bytes but often used to mean 1,000 bytes.

Synonyms

• Kilogram: The formal equivalent when referring to mass.

Notes on Meaning

• The primary and most common meaning of the standalone word "kilo" is a kilogram.
• It is crucial to distinguish between the informal noun "kilo" (meaning kilogram) and the metric prefix "kilo-" (meaning one thousand). The prefix is not used as an independent word.

Học thuật

Noun

1. one thousand grams; the basic unit of mass adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
   • a kilogram is approximately 2.2 pounds

Từ đồng nghĩa

• kilogram
• kg