kilometer
Americannoun
Pronunciation
The usual pronunciation for units of measurement starting with kilo-, as kilocalorie, kiloliter, and kilohertz, as well as for units of length ending in the base word meter, as centimeter, hectometer, and millimeter, gives primary stress to the first syllable and secondary to the third. It would seem logical for kilometer to follow this pattern, and in fact the pronunciation has been used since the early 1800's. A second pronunciation: , with stress on the second syllable only, was first recorded in America before 1830. Although often criticized on the basis of analogy, this pronunciation has persisted in American English, increasing in frequency, and has gained popularity in British English as well. It is reinforced by words for instruments (rather than units) of measurement ending in -meter, as thermometer, barometer, and speedometer, having stress on the -om syllable. Both pronunciations are used by educated speakers, including members of the scientific community.
Other Word Forms
- kilometric adjective
- kilometrical adjective
Etymology
Origin of kilometer
First recorded in 1800–10; from French kilomètre; kilo-, meter 1
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.
As a result, the total known distribution now stretches more than 900 kilometers.
From Science Daily
New research led by the University of Colorado Boulder and published in Nature Geoscience explains what happened in 2023, when the glacier lost about eight kilometers of ice in just 60 days.
From Science Daily
Twelve kilometers from the hotel zone, crossing empty streets with minimal traffic, residents in the well-off neighborhood of Fluvial Vallarta wandered through the parking lot of a Costco wholesaler.
From Barron's
Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, another American took the ice to skate for gold in the signature event of the Winter Games.
About 1,000 kilometers off the coast of Portugal lies one of the most striking examples.
From Science Daily
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.
