k
a vector on the z-axis, having length 1 unit.
k
1 American
K
2
American
abbreviation
Ecology.
K
3
American
[key]
/ keɪ /
Or
k
noun
-
K's,
plural
-
Ks,
plural
-
k's,
plural
-
ks
plural
-
the eleventh letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
-
any sound represented by the letter K or k, as in bilk, kit, or sick.
-
something having the shape of a K .
-
a written or printed representation of the letter K or k.
-
a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter K or k.
K
4
American
abbreviation
-
the number 1000.
The salary offered is $20K.
-
kilometer, especially in a footrace or wheelchair race on a road or track.
She’s training to run her first 10K this summer.
K
5
American
abbreviation
-
Chess. king.
-
Physics. Kelvin.
-
Music. Köchel listing.
-
kindergarten.
a K–12 boarding school.
-
Real Estate. kitchen.
K
6
American
k.
7
American
abbreviation
-
Electricity. capacity.
-
karat.
-
kilogram; kilograms.
-
Chess. king.
-
knight.
-
knot.
-
kopeck.
K.
8
American
abbreviation
-
kip; kips.
-
Knight.
-
kwacha.
K
1
British
symbol
-
kelvin(s)
-
chess king
-
chem potassium
-
physics kaon
-
currency
-
kina
-
kip
-
kopeck
-
kwacha
-
kyat
-
-
one thousand
-
computing
-
a unit of 1024 words, bits, or bytes
-
(not in technical usage) 1000
-
abbreviation
k
2
British
/ keɪ /
noun
-
the 11th letter and 8th consonant of the modern English alphabet
-
a speech sound represented by this letter, usually a voiceless velar stop, as in kitten
-
See five Ks
k
3
British
symbol
-
kilo(s)
-
maths the unit vector along the z-axis
K
4
British
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of K4
Abbreviation of kilo- K 2 for def. 1; abbreviation of kilometer ( def. ) K 2 for def. 2
Origin of K6
K 4 def. 6 from German Kalium
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But some economists see evidence of a so-called k-shaped economy, where the two legs of the k represent different income groups, with a relatively small slice of high earners boosting spending growth.
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
The k track was the mirror image of a particle seen before by colleagues in Manchester, but the Manchester team's track decayed into two pions, not three.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2024
If the quotient n ⁄ k is not an integer, the minimum we are looking for corresponds to the rounded-up value because one of the drawers then inevitably contains this number of objects.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 20, 2023
He then shared a story how when he was younger, he once got the letters x,y, z and k in Scrabble — and spent 15 minutes determined to try to make a move.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 26, 2022
“Buttocks is spelled with a k in it, Peter,” Jessica said.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
K feels anxious every time he returns from Hong Kong.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
New Zealand game, for example, Metro said rides on the K Line and C Line — those closest to SoFi Stadium — were up 41% and 23% respectively compared to a typical Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
The deal, if successful, would be the largest-ever acquisition for the owner of Circle K, which abandoned a $47 billion takeover attempt of Seven & i, the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven, last July.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
That K shape, they said, has increasingly been molded by so-called superfans — artists’ most devoted followers, who are willing to pay up for seats at the front of the house and VIP packages.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
The boys all laughed and snapped on Ellis and the K, but mostly on the K. Then a PTA volunteer headed up the aisle toward them and the ruckus quieted.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
It was truly a scene at that time, often set to music by Robert John Burck, a. k. a. the Naked Cowboy, a fervent supporter of Mr. Trump.
From New York Times ● Aug. 15, 2017
But just as bell hooks, the feminist writer, and k. d. lang, the singer-songwriter, often see their names appear with unwanted capital letters, lowercase compositions are often capitalized on their way to publication.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2017
The Japanese took to the game so wholeheartedly that today their system is actually overbuilt; generating stations with a capacity of some 300,000 k. w. lie idle.
From Time Magazine Archive
Now king Henrie hearing of the good successe of his men, passed ouer The k. passeth ouer to Normandie.
From Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (2 of 6): England (3 of 12) Henrie I. by Raphael Holinshed
O. N. k regularly remains k. k > ch finally in screch.
From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by George Tobias Flom
Female cats begin breeding when the weather starts to get warmer, according to Michelson Found Animals, an animal welfare nonprofit funded by surgeon and philanthropist Dr. Gary K. Michelson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The team combined observations from the NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, the world's largest solar telescope, with advanced computer simulations.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
CREW, founded in 2003 as a nonpartisan organization dedicated to government accountability and ethics, is headed by Donald K. Sherman, a former House Ethics Committee attorney and special assistant to President Joseph Biden.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Barry K. Goodwin is a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on U.S. agricultural policy and the federal crop insurance program.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
That’s why it was such a shock that time Marge K. asked Miss Lucy her question.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
New members to Circle K’s loyalty program get 25 cents off a gallon for their first five fuel-ups.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
With Albania already assured of second place, Serbia beat Latvia 2-1 in a dead-rubber in Group K's other match.
From Barron's ● Nov. 16, 2025
Stanford bound Mike Erspamer with the complete game shutout & 9 K’s; Kai Cesare with a 2 run double.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025
She added that clinicians during her investigation showed a "lack of objective reflection" and "continued to fail to identify and acknowledge failings in Mrs K’s care".
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2024
Lauren K’s backyard has a tableful of food.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Only four pitchers in the majors this year recorded more Ks with a single pitch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2024
Over four games, the Mariners have fanned 45 times, and their 11.25 Ks per game are the second most in MLB.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 31, 2024
The student didn't even care to investigate what the three Ks meant in Murillo's book title.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2023
With the nine strikeouts, he finished the month of August with 53 Ks, the second-most in Royals history behind Dennis Leonard’s 55 in June 1977.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 30, 2023
He always curled the tip of his Ks, and his Zs looked like chubby 3s.
From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
Hard consonants - k's, d's, hard c's and hard g's - gave me hell.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 21, 2010
It was because she has trouble saying words sometimes, especially beginnings, like b’s and t’s and k’s.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
It was not pedantic philology at which he aimed, though he did not disdain occasional picturesque archaisms, such as "yatches" for "yachts," or despise the artful aid of terminal k's, long s's, and old-cut type.
From De Libris: Prose and Verse by Austin Dobson
The k's and g's liable to labialization in Eu. languages appear to be occasionally labialized in Dakotan languages.
From The Dakotan Languages, and Their Relations to Other Languages by A. W. (Andrew Woods) Williamson
Here in Fiji the singing was harsh and discordant, as k’s and r’s abound in the language.
From Wanderings among South Sea Savages and in Borneo and the Philippines by H. Wilfrid Walker
Bills 31st in NFL with 16 sac ks, including 10 in 23-0 win over Redskins.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2011
Fyodorov and his colleagues have performed more than 2,000 "radial ks" with, they claim, most of the cases improving to at least 20/25 vision.
From Time Magazine Archive
With the construction of big military bases at Dutch Harbor, Kodiak, Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska became more than a massive map sprinkled with names full of harsh ks and ts.
From Time Magazine Archive
Exceptions.—X final, being equivalent to ks, is never doubled; and when the derivative does not retain the accent of the root, the final consonant is not always doubled: as, prefer' + ence = pref'erence.
From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton
What then is this blotted letter if it is not kes or ks?
From Bacon is Shake-Speare by Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
