Meaning & use
kilogram
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Meanings
nouncountable
A unit of mass equal to one thousand grams, used worldwide for weighing people and objects.
Grammar: Countable: say 'a kilogram' or 'two kilograms'. The abbreviation 'kg' is common in writing.
Patterns
- weigh X kilograms
- a kilogram of something
The bag of rice weighs five kilograms.
She bought a kilogram of apples at the market.
He weighs about seventy kilograms.
nounsingulartechnicalspecialist
The base unit of mass in the International System of Units, defined by a fixed physical constant.
Grammar: Used as a standard scientific reference; often in the singular with 'the'.
Patterns
- the kilogram is defined as
- measured in kilograms
In physics, the kilogram is one of the seven base units.
Since 2019, the kilogram has been defined using the Planck constant.
All mass measurements in the lab are traceable to the kilogram.
Word forms
| plural | kilograms |
|---|
Common combinations
- weigh a kilogram
- The package weighs exactly one kilogram.
- a kilogram of
- She added a kilogram of flour to the mixture.
- per kilogram
- The price is ten dollars per kilogram.
- kilograms of
- They ordered fifty kilograms of cement.
Synonyms and how they differ
- kilo
- Informal shortening used in everyday speech, especially outside the US.
Word family
Commonly confused: kilogram or pound?
kilogram vs pound
A pound is a unit of mass used mainly in the US and UK; one kilogram is about 2.2 pounds.
Practice
The doctor asked him to lose a few ______ to improve his health.
Choose one answer.
Kilograms measure mass, which is what you lose when you lose weight. Kilometers measure distance, kilohertz measure frequency, and kilobars measure pressure.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kilogram”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.