kilo-

From French, kilo- irregularly derived from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi, “one thousand”). The etymologically "correct" form would be chili- or chilo-, resulting in forms such as chiliasme (“chiliasm”) or chilopode (“centipede”); but the French, when creating the prefix, had to avoid a possible (standard) pronunciation of chi as /ʃi/, too close to the vulgar verb chier.

• Audio (Southern England):

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SI prefix

k	Previous:	hecto-
	Next:	mega-

kilo-

2. In the International System of Units and other metric systems of units, multiplying the unit to which it is attached by a thousand (1000).

   Alternative form: k- (symbol)

   Synonym: chilia-

   Antonym: milli-

4. (computing, deprecated) Synonym of kibi- (“multiplying the unit to which it is attached by 2¹⁰ = 1024”).

   Synonyms: Ki-, ki-

• The usage of kilo- as a 1024x multiplier in computing (i.e., to mean kibi-) is obsolete, but many people continue to use it this way.^[1]

• “kilo-”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• Ilok, Loki

kilo-

1. kilo-

• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[2], 1980

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilogramo”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]

• quilo-

Borrowed from French kilo-, from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi, “thousand”).

kilo-

1. kilo- (SI prefix expressing 10³ of the base unit)

• The letter k is not normally used in Catalan. Instead, Catalan orthography calls for using the qu digraph to represent the /k/ sound before an e or an i. Therefor, when the metric system was introduced into Catalan, the prefix kilo- was originally spelled quilo-. With the advent of k as a standard international abbreviation, usage of kilo- has become not only acceptable, but also more common than the traditional spelling. However, traditionalists still insist upon the use of quilo-.

• “kilo-”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “kilo-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “kilo-” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

• IPA^(key): [kɪlo ]

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• kilo- in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-” in Den Danske Ordbog

From French kilo-.

• Audio:

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kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilogram” in Van Dale Onlinewoordenboek, Van Dale Lexicografie, 2007.

kilo-

1. kilo-

• kilogramo in Fundamento de Esperanto by L. L. Zamenhof, 1905

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009

Internationalism, from French kilo-, ultimately from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi, “one thousand”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈkilo-/, [ˈk̟ilo̞-]

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[3] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 1 July 2023

• Koli, loki, olki

Derived from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi). See English kilo-.

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-” in Duden online
• “kilo-” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

• IPA^(key): [ˈkilo]
• Hyphenation: ki‧lo

kilo-

1. (noun prefix) kilo-

   ‎kilo- + ‎méter (“meter”) → ‎kilométer (“kilometer”)

• kilométer in Hungarian–English dictionary at SZTAKI

kilo-

1. kilo-

• kilogram-o in Ido-English Dictionary by L.H. Dyer, 1924

Borrowed from Russian кило- (kilo-).

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈkilo-/, [ˈkiɫo̞ˑ-]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈkilo-/, [ˈkiɫo̞ˑ-]

kilo-

1. kilo-

kilo-

1. (sciences) kilo-

   Synonym: (in more general usage) chilo-

• kilo- in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication

kilo-

1. kilo-

• kilo- at tezaurs.lv

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-”, in Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of common Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, n.d.
• “kilo-”, in Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, 1954–2026

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilogram” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Borrowed from French kilo-.

• IPA^(key): /ki.lɔ/

• Audio 1:

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• Audio 2:

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• Rhymes: -ilɔ
• Syllabification: ki‧lo-

kilo-

1. kilo-

• kilo- in Polish dictionaries at PWN

kilo-

1. alternative spelling of quilo-

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

• IPA^(key): /kíːlɔ/

kȋlo-

1. kilo-

• “kilo-”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026

From French kilo-, irregularly derived from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi, “one thousand”).

kilo-

1. kilo- (SI prefix multiplying the unit by 10³)
2. (computing) kibi- (IEC prefix multiplying the unit by 2¹⁰)

• “kilo-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

kilo-

1. kilo-

• kilo- in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• olik

kilo-

1. kilo-

• “kilogram”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu