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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

karats

plural

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.

Four bronze horse statues that stand near Memorial Bridge are set to be coated with 23.75 karat gold leaf.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

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

It contains just under 400 diamonds, rubies and sapphires and is set onto yellow gold, with a total karat weight of approximately 6 carats.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2024

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