KILOMETER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does kilometer mean? 

• KILOMETER (noun)
  The noun KILOMETER has 1 sense:

1. a metric unit of length equal to 1000 meters (or 0.621371 miles)

  Familiarity information: KILOMETER used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KILOMETER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A metric unit of length equal to 1000 meters (or 0.621371 miles)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

kilometer; kilometre; klick; km

Hypernyms ("kilometer" is a kind of...):

metric linear unit (a linear unit of distance in metric terms)

Meronyms (parts of "kilometer"):

hectometer; hectometre; hm (a metric unit of length equal to 100 meters)

Holonyms ("kilometer" is a part of...):

mym; myriameter; myriametre (a metric unit of length equal to 10,000 meters)

 Context examples 

The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 365,000 miles (587,000 kilometers) from Rhea and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 9 degrees.

(Regarding Rhea, NASA)

By the time a tower reaches a height of 50 miles (80 kilometers), as seen during the 2018 global dust storm, it may be as wide as Nevada.

(Global Storms on Mars Launch Dust Towers Into the Sky, NASA)

The predicted altitude for loss of signal is approximately 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) above Saturn's cloud tops.

(Cassini Spacecraft Makes Its Final Approach to Saturn, NASA)

At the time of its closest approach on January 26, the asteroid will be approximately 745,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from Earth.

(Asteroid to Fly By Earth on January 26, NASA)

A/2017 U1 came from the direction of the constellation Lyra, cruising through interstellar space at a brisk clip of 15.8 miles (25.5 kilometers) per second.

(Small Asteroid or Comet 'Visits' from Beyond the Solar System, NASA)

The targets are within the expected landing area at a distance of about three miles (five kilometers) from its center.

('Lost' 2003 Mars Lander Found by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA)

Located on the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, the Larsen B remnant is about 625 square miles (1,600 square kilometers) in area and about 1,640 feet (500 meters) thick at its thickest point.

(Antarctica’s Larsen B Ice Shelf Nearing Its Final Act, NASA)

Observations completed at the University of Hawaii indicate the comet nucleus is somewhere between 1.2 and 10 miles (2 and 16 kilometers) in diameter.

(Newly Discovered Comet Is Likely Interstellar Visitor, NASA)

Earlier this year, Zealandia was confirmed as Earth's seventh continent, but little is known about it because it's submerged more than a kilometer (two-thirds of a mile) under the sea.

(Scientists return from expedition to lost continent of Zealandia, National Science Foundation)

Over the past 26 years, the glacier’s terminus has retreated more than 5 kilometers (3 miles).

(Retreat of Yakutat Glacier, NASA)