karat

or car·at

[ kar-uht ]

/ ˈkær ət /

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noun

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

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Origin of karat

First recorded in 1550–60; spelling variant of carat

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH karat

carat, caret, carrot, karat

Words nearby karat

karanda, karanga, Karankawa, karaoke, Kara Sea, karat, karate, karate-chop, karateka, karaya gum, Karbala

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use karat in a sentence

It is now on the market as kunzite, and a cut stone of one karat in weight sells for fifty dollars and more.
The Heritage of the Hills|Arthur P. Hankins
It's like a fellow handing out a twenty-four karat gold bar to a rube by mistake, under the impression it only looks like one.
Flying U Ranch|B. M. Bower
There could be no shadow of doubt as to the genuineness of the claim that the trophy was of eighteen-karat gold.
Lad: A Dog|Albert Payson Terhune
Selim bought her last winter for a ten karat ruby and a pint of sapphires.
The Man From Brodney's|George Barr McCutcheon

During the past five years, when the product in the Congo fields has grown steadily, not a single karat has been stolen.
An African Adventure|Isaac F. Marcosson

British Dictionary definitions for karat

karat

/ (ˈkærət) /

noun

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

Word Origin for karat

C16: from Old French, from Medieval Latin carratus, from Arabic qīrāt weight of four grains, carat, from Greek keration a little horn, from keras horn

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