kilogram

[kil-uh-gram] /ˈkɪl əˌgræm/
noun
1.
a unit of mass equal to 1000 grams: the basic unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram, a platinum-iridium cylinder kept in Sèvres, France.
Abbreviation: kg.
2.
a unit of force and weight, equal to the force that produces an acceleration of 9.80665 meters per second per second when acting on a mass of one kilogram.
Abbreviation: kg.
Also, especially British, kilogramme.
Origin
1790-1800; < French kilogramme. See kilo-, -gram2
Examples from the web for kilogram
  • Every extra kilogram that the craft weighs piles on the dollars in the form of launch costs.
  • Generally the lethal dose is measured in grams per kilogram.
  • One kilogram of hydrogen is considered equivalent to one gallon of gasoline.
  • Getting a kilogram of anything into orbit costs thousands of dollars.
  • The units are microgram per kilogram body weight per day.
  • But once it is built, the operating cost would be dollars per kilogram to put something into orbit.
  • We thought, two kilograms of anything in a hundred-kilogram animal is significant.
  • The pound squares off against the kilogram, you see.
  • The group's adhesive was able to hold a one-kilogram weight when pressure was applied in the direction of the angled fibers.
  • Now the kilogram, the last artefact-based unit, awaits its turn.
British Dictionary definitions for kilogram

kilogram

/ˈkɪləʊˌɡræm/
noun
1.
one thousand grams
2.
the basic SI unit of mass, equal to the mass of the international prototype held by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures. One kilogram is equivalent to 2.204 62 pounds
kg
Word Origin and History for kilogram
n.

"one thousand grams," 1797, from French kilogramme (1795); see kilo- + gram.

kilogram in Medicine

kilogram kil·o·gram (kĭl'ə-grām')
n.

Abbr. kg The base unit of mass in the International System of Units, equal to 1,000 grams (2.2046 pounds).

kilogram in Science
kilogram
  (kĭl'ə-grām')   
The basic unit of mass in the metric system, equal to 1,000 grams (2.2 pounds). See Table at measurement.
kilogram in Culture
kilogram [(kil-uh-gram, kee-luh-gram)]

A unit of mass in the metric system, equal to one thousand grams. The weight of a one-kilogram mass is slightly over two pounds.

Encyclopedia Article for kilogram

basic unit of mass in the metric system, equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram, a platinum-iridium cylinder kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures laboratory at Sevres, France. A kilogram is very nearly equal (it was originally intended to be exactly equal) to the mass of 1,000 cubic cm of water. The pound is now defined as equal to 0.45359237 kg, exactly. As originally defined, the kg was represented in the late 18th century as a solid cylinder of platinum. Measurements of the mass of a volume of water proved to be imprecise and inconvenient to make, however, and the platinum artifact itself became the standard. It was superseded in 1889 by the present standard kilogram, also a solid cylinder, of height equal to its diameter, made of the same alloy as the standard metre bar then in use. See also International System of Units.

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