Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

K2

American  
[key-too] / ˈkeɪˈtu /

noun

  1. Also called Dapsang.  Also called Godwin Austen.  a mountain in N Kashmir: highest peak in the Karakoram range and second highest in the world. 28,250 feet (8,611 meters).


Trademark.
  1. a brand name for a synthetic cannabis compound.

K2 British  

noun

  1. Also called: Godwin-Austen.   Dapsang.  a mountain in the Karakoram Range on the Kashmir-Xinjiang border: the second highest mountain in the world. Height: 8611 m (28 250 ft)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of K2

First recorded in 1855-60 K2 for def. 1; 2010 K2 for def. 2; K(arakoram) ( def. 1 ) + 2 (because it was the second peak in the range to be measured)

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:

Another member of the team, Kili Pemba Sherpa, was part of a historic 2021 expedition that summitted K2, the world's second-highest peak, in winter.

From BBC Aug. 3, 2026

In 2021, Purja completed the first winter ascent of K2 along with a team of nine other Nepalese climbers.

From Barron's Jul. 31, 2026

As Chen De’an, head of excavation at the K1 and K2 pits, points out, walking into the elaborate complex that now surrounds the dig, “There was nothing here but fields.”

From The Wall Street Journal May 26, 2026

He led a 1975 expedition up the world’s second-highest mountain, K2, that failed to reach the top.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 8, 2026

It was an exceedingly ambitious goal, but Kropp had the credentials to pull it off: he’d been on six previous Himalayan expeditions and had made solo ascents of Broad Peak, Cho Oyu, and K2.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training