kilometers

kilometers — noun

1. a unit for measuring length or distance; one kilometer equals one thousand meter

1.nounA2
Definition

a unit for measuring length or distance; one kilometer equals one thousand meters, and people use it worldwide to describe how far apart places are or how long a route is.

Example

Nikhil ran the last five kilometers of the race in just under twenty minutes.

run + distance in kilometers (collocation)

The nearest hospital was nearly ten kilometers from Mira's village.

be + number + kilometers from [place]

Common collocations
  • kilometers from
  • kilometers to
  • kilometers per hour
  • square kilometers
  • within kilometers of

Grammar Patterns

number + kilometers

kilometers + of + noun

Usage Note

Often abbreviated as km in writing, without a period. In Taiwan and most metric-system countries, road signs and speed limits use kilometers rather than miles.

Common Mistakes

The park is 5 kilometer from here.
The park is 5 kilometers from here.
Use the plural form kilometers when the number is greater than one.
Drive at 80 kms per hour.
Drive at 80 km per hour.
The standard abbreviation is km, not kms, even for plural distances.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Kilometers, miles, and meters all measure distance or length, but they belong to different systems. A kilometer (about 0.62 miles) is the metric standard used in most countries, including Taiwan, for road distances, running events, and geography. A mile (about 1.61 kilometers) is used in the US, the UK, and a few other countries — so travelers from metric countries see 'miles per hour' on American speed-limit signs. A meter is the base metric unit; one kilometer equals 1,000 meters. Use meters for shorter distances (a room, a swimming pool) and kilometers for longer travel distances. For example: 'The shop is 200 meters away' but 'The next city is 15 kilometers away.'

miles ↗meters ↗kilometers per hour

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • kilometers per hour
  • square kilometers
  • kilometers away

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

The word kilometer comes from French kilomètre, which was formed by combining Greek khilioi (meaning 'thousand') with French mètre ('meter'). It first appeared in English in the early 1800s as the metric system spread across Europe.

First known use

1810

1810, in the meaning defined above