kilogram
Americannoun
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kilograms
plural
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a unit of mass equal to 1,000 grams: the basic unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI). Up until 2019 the kilogram was defined as equal to the mass of an international prototype, a platinum-iridium cylinder kept in Sèvres, France. The kilogram has since been redefined in terms of universal physical constants, including the speed of light and Planck's constant. kg
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a unit of force and weight, equal to the force that produces an acceleration of 9.80665 meters per second per second when acting on a mass of one kilogram. kg
noun
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one thousand grams
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the basic SI unit of mass, equal to the mass of the international prototype held by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures. One kilogram is equivalent to 2.204 62 pounds
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The basic unit of mass in the metric system, equal to 1,000 grams (2.2 pounds).
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See Table at measurement
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of kilogram
From the French word kilogramme, dating back to 1790–1800. See kilo-, -gram 2
Explanation
A kilogram is a unit of measurement that's a bit more than two pounds. The liter bottle of soda in your refrigerator weighed about one kilogram when it was full. The United States is one of only three countries that has not adopted the metric system as its official system of measurement. In the United States, then, the pound is the basic unit used to measure mass, while most countries use the kilogram. So your bulldog weighs in at 100 pounds at your home in Florida but 45.36 kilograms when you move to Ireland. Originally, a kilogram was defined as the mass of a liter of water.
Vocabulary lists containing kilogram
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:
Because propellant is the spacecraft's main consumable resource, every kilogram saved during its journey can potentially translate into additional years of scientific observations.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Sales prices for Yunnan berries, he said, fell from $45 a kilogram in 2021 to $15 dollars this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Its experts retained the acceptable daily intake of 15 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day and found that estimated dietary exposure remained below that level across the population groups assessed.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Han says he has slashed prices for his Musang Kings by nearly a third, offering them to customers for 50 ringgit per kilogram.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
It flashes, then reads: LD50.001 nanograms per kilogram.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
You squeeze the device as hard as you can for a few seconds and a needle gauge measures your strength in kilograms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Its flagship robot is the Phantom MK-1, a man-sized humanoid which can carry 40 kilograms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Native -- a trendy bar in Singapore that made this year's Asia's 50 Best Bars list -- imports around 900 kilograms of ice from Kuramoto each year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
He transformed his body by gaining around eight kilograms of body mass and became Premier League-ready.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
I made up the weight difference by loading 600 kilograms of rocks in with my other supplies.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
