kilometre

kilometre — noun

1. A unit used for measuring long distances on land or in the air. One kilometre eq

1.nounA2
Definition

A unit used for measuring long distances on land or in the air. One kilometre equals 1,000 metres, or about 0.62 miles.

Example

The airport is about fifteen kilometres south of the city centre.

about + number + kilometres + direction (south of)

Faisal runs five kilometres along the river every morning before breakfast.

run + number + kilometres

Common collocations
  • within (two/three/five) kilometres (of)
  • kilometres from
  • square kilometre
  • kilometres per hour (km/h)
  • kilometre-long
  • every (few/other) kilometre
Synonyms
  • km

    The standard written abbreviation; used in signs, maps, and data, never in spoken full sentences.

  • kilometer

    American English spelling only; same meaning and pronunciation may vary.

  • click

    Slang term used mainly by the military for 'kilometre'; informal and rare in everyday speech.

Grammar Patterns

number + kilometre(s) + (away/down/from)

number + square kilometre(s)

Usage Note

The abbreviation for both singular and plural is 'km' (e.g. '5 km', not '5 kms'). The American spelling is 'kilometer'. Pronunciation differs: British English /ˈkɪl.ə.miː.tər/ (KIL-uh-mee-tər), American English /kɪˈlɑː.mɪ.tər/ (kil-AH-mih-tər).

Common Mistakes

The shop is 5 kms from here.
The shop is 5 km from here.
The abbreviation 'km' does not add an 's' for plural.
He drove at 80 kilometres a hour.
He drove at 80 kilometres an hour.
Use 'an' before 'hour', not 'a'.
She ran a 10-kilometres race.
She ran a 10-kilometre race.
In compound adjectives before a noun, use the singular form.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A 'kilometre' (British spelling) and 'kilometer' (American spelling) refer to the exact same distance — 1,000 metres. The choice is purely regional: British English uses 'kilometre' (pronounced KIL-uh-mee-tər), while American English prefers 'kilometer' (pronounced kil-AH-mih-tər). A 'mile' is an imperial unit equal to about 1.61 kilometres, used primarily in the US and UK for road distances. A 'metre' is the base SI unit of length — much shorter than a kilometre, used for everyday measurements like a person's height or the width of a room. For example: 'The town is 10 kilometres from here' (British) vs 'The town is 6 miles from here' (US road signs). In science, the kilometre is the standard for long-distance measurement worldwide.

kilometre ↗mile ↗metre ↗kilometer ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • per kilometre
  • square kilometre
  • kilometres per hour
  • every (other/few) kilometre(s)
  • within a kilometre of

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

The word 'kilometre' was formed in French (kilomètre) around the late 1700s, combining the Greek prefix 'khilioi-' meaning 'thousand' with the French 'mètre' (metre), which itself comes from the Greek 'metron' meaning 'measure'. The metric system was developed during the French Revolution as a standardised decimal-based system of measurement, and the kilometre was adopted internationally as the standard unit for measuring long distances.