karat

American

[kar-uht] / ˈkær ət /

Or carat

noun

a unit for measuring the fineness of gold, pure gold being 24 karats fine. k., kt.

karat British

/ ˈkærət /

noun

Also spelt (in Britain and certain other countries): carat. a measure of the proportion of gold in an alloy, expressed as the number of parts of gold in 24 parts of the alloy

"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 karat

First recorded in 1550–60; spelling variant of carat

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.

Yeesookyung collects ceramic shards of work discarded by master craftsmen due to minor flaws and reassembles these fragments into bubbling sculptures held together with 24 karat gold.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

The toilet is made of 18 karat gold, meaning the metal is 75% gold and 25% alloy.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 1, 2025

Meta Gala co-chair Dua Lipa wore a vintage 1992 Chanel Haute Couture Fall cream tweed gown and paired it with a never before seen 100 karat Tiffany diamond necklace.

From Reuters • May 2, 2023

Black-painted bells on the exterior of the building that were presumed to be solid cast iron turned out to have 24 karat gold leaf filigree.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2021

Pippin's not so nicely spoken as you, my pet, but his heart's twenty-four karat.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023