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kilowatt

[kil-uh-wot]
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noun
  1. a unit of power, equal to 1000 watts. Abbreviation: kW, kw
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Origin of kilowatt

First recorded in 1880–85; kilo- + watt
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

strengthserviceelectricityheatpotentialdynamismreactionforcepressureburngravityfrictionsteamcurrentjuicemagnetismapplicationresponserayswattage

Examples from the Web for kilowatt

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It's going in at ten kilovolts, so that's a five billion kilowatt supply.

    Islands of Space

    John W Campbell

  • There are amperes, and there are volts, and there are kilowatt hours.

    David and the Phoenix

    Edward Ormondroyd

  • We had to use a kilowatt before they could pick it up at 200 miles.

    Greylorn

    John Keith Laumer

  • Voltage, amperage, and watt or kilowatt are the terms in common use.

  • A horse-power is equivalent to 746 watts, or is nearly 3/4 of a kilowatt.

    Physics

    Willis Eugene Tower

British Dictionary definitions for kilowatt

kilowatt

noun
  1. one thousand wattsSymbol: kW
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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

Word Origin and History for kilowatt

n.

1884, from kilo- + watt. Kilowatt hour is from 1892. Related: Kilowattage.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
kilowatt in Science

kilowatt

[kĭl′ə-wŏt′]
  1. A unit of power equal to 1,000 watts.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
kilowatt in Culture

kilowatt

[(kil-uh-waht)]

One thousand watts. (See power.)

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.