k
/keɪ/ (bre, ipa) · [kˈe] /keɪ/ (ame, ipa) · [kˈe] /ˈkā/ (ame, mw)
k — noun
- ksingular
- ksplural
1. the letter in the English alphabet that follows J and comes before L
the letter in the English alphabet that follows J and comes before L
The word "kangaroo" starts with the letter K, just like the word "kite."
correct use of the letter in a word
The teacher asked the children to write both a big K and a small k.
uppercase vs lowercase distinction
Wei spelled his name wrong because he left out the letter k.
The letter K in "kite" is clearly pronounced, unlike the K in "knee."
用法筆記
K is one of the less frequent letters in English. In some words borrowed from Greek (like knee or know), the letter k is written but not pronounced when it comes before n.
常見錯誤
2. a short way of writing kilobyte, used to describe how much space a computer has
a short way of writing kilobyte, used to describe how much space a computer has for storing information; one kilobyte is 1,024 bytes
Cole's old phone had only 64K of memory for storing text messages.
K as a storage unit for memory
The image file was 128 K in size and took a few seconds to load.
Back in the 1990s, a game that needed 256K was considered fairly large.
Sana explained that each page of text the computer stored used about 4K of space.
- kilobyte
the full form of the abbreviation K
用法筆記
In everyday use, 1K of computer storage often means roughly 1,000 bytes. The precise value is 1,024 bytes, but the difference is small enough that people often round down.
常見錯誤
3. an informal written way of saying one thousand, used most often when talking abo
an informal written way of saying one thousand, used most often when talking about amounts of money such as dollars or pounds
Shanti earns around 50K a year as a nurse in the city.
K for salary amounts
The repair work on their old house cost them over 30K.
Otis got a bonus of 5K for finishing the project before the deadline.
The charity raised 200K from the fundraising dinner last Saturday night.
Adina sold her old car for 8K and bought a new laptop with the money.
用法筆記
K for 'thousand' is common in job ads, real estate listings, and casual financial discussions. Use it only in writing — in speech, people say 'thousand' or 'grand.'
常見錯誤
4. the short written form of kelvin, a scientific scale used to measure temperature
the short written form of kelvin, a scientific scale used to measure temperature where zero is the coldest temperature possible
The experiment required the sample to be cooled to 77 K using liquid nitrogen.
K as a unit after a temperature number
Rachid noted in his lab report that water boils at 373.15 K at sea level.
The temperature of the surface of the Sun is about 5,778 K.
According to the physics textbook, room temperature is roughly 293 K.
- kelvin
the full name of the unit that K abbreviates
用法筆記
Unlike Celsius or Fahrenheit, the kelvin scale has no degree symbol — write 273 K, not 273°K (though the latter is still seen in older texts). K is placed after the number without a space in some style guides, though a space is also common.