kilometre
ki-LOM-i-tuh/kɪˈlɒmɪtə/kuh-LAH-mi-ter/kəˈlɑmɪtəɹ/
Pluralkilometres
US spellingkilometer
- 1A unit for measuring distance that is equal to 1,000 metres.
My flat is only a kilometre from the nearest train station.
At the weekend we cycled twenty kilometres along the canal path.
UsageWrite km after a number: 5 km, not
incorrect: 5 kms.
Use it in a sentence
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Origin
It comes from French kilomètre, made from a Greek word for "thousand" and a Greek word for "measure".
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Kilometre comes from French kilomètre. en.wiktionary.org
- The first component derives from a Greek word meaning ‘thousand’. en.wiktionary.org
- The second component derives from a Greek word meaning ‘measure’. en.wiktionary.org