kilo

a Greek combining form meaning “thousand,” introduced from French in the nomenclature of the metric system (kiloliter); on this model, used in the formation of compound words in other scientific measurements (kilowatt).

Origin of kilo-

<French, representing Greek chī́lioi a thousand

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

How to use kilo in a sentence

Now, more than 1 million people have registered for Zwift, an app where they can obsess daily over their watts per kilo, heart rate, and cadence.
Is This App the Future of AI Workouts?|David Shultz|April 13, 2021|Outside Online
“The type of graphene we are looking at for packaging will currently cost in bulk around $200 per kilo,” says Juliussen.
Graphene gets real: Meet the entrepreneurs bringing the wonder substance to market|David Meyer|December 13, 2020|Fortune
Sayam has been using the app since 2018, but during the lockdown, the app was particularly effective as Books By Kilo could offer virtual tours of its collection to customers via video calls.
Pesky forwards aside, WhatsApp is now a lifeline for many small businesses in India|Niharika Sharma|August 25, 2020|Quartz
Just a few months ago, an average chicken cost 110 rubles per kilo and Monday it is 130 rubles.
How Crimea Crashed the Russian Economy|Anna Nemtsova|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Greason said that an old-fashioned NASA-type government launch costs between $5000 and $8000 per kilo.
Up to a Point: A 'Space Corvette' in Every Garage|P. J. O’Rourke|September 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This defendant was charged with having a kilo of heroin, serious dealer weight, but he had not been indicted.
A Sax Player, Then a Suspect After Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Final Act|Michael Daly|February 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The best horsetail hair comes from Latin America, at $25 a kilo.
Savoir Beds’ Royal State Bed: Just Perfect, If You Have $175,000|Daniel Gross|June 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Rhino horn can fetch up to $60,000 per kilo on the black market.
William Attacks 'Selfish and Ignorant' Rhino Poachers|Tom Sykes|June 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In twenty years the average price fell from about 235 to 135 marks the 1000 kilo.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 8|Various
On the other side of the fire, reclining upon his elbow, the gnome Kilo is poking the coals with a stick.
The Saxons|Edwin Davies Schoonmaker
One kilo of indigo yields in this manner a very concentrated vat of from 10 to 15 litres.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
Look at those great clusters of dates—ten francs a kilo, and we pay sixteen.
Sea and Sardinia|D. H. Lawrence
Let those who haste to decry modern institutions remember that to-day you can buy bread in Tournus for a few sous the kilo.
Burgundy: The Splendid Duchy|Percy Allen

British Dictionary definitions for kilo (1 of 3)

kilo¹

/ (ˈkiːləʊ) /

noun plural kilos

short for kilogram, kilometre

British Dictionary definitions for kilo (2 of 3)

kilo²

/ (ˈkiːləʊ) /

noun

communications a code word for the letter k

British Dictionary definitions for kilo (3 of 3)

kilo-

prefix

denoting 10³ (1000)kilometre Symbol: k

(in computer technology) denoting 2 10 (1024): kilobyte: in computer usage, kilo- is restricted to sizes of storage (e.g. kilobit) when it means 1024; in other computer contexts it retains its usual meaning of 1000

Word Origin for kilo-

from French, from Greek khilioi thousand

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

Scientific definitions for kilo

kilo-

A prefix that means:

One thousand, as in kilowatt, one thousand watts.

210 (that is, 1,024), which is the power of 2 closest to 1,000, as in kilobyte.