kilo-

kilo-

pref.

One thousand (10³): kilowatt.

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[French, from Greek khlioi, thousand; see gheslo- in Indo-European roots.]

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kilo-

combining form

1. denoting one thousand (10³): kilometre

2. (in computers) denoting 2¹⁰ (1024): kilobyte. In computer usage, kilo- is restricted to sizes of storage (e.g. kilobit) when it means 1024: in other computer contexts it retains its usual meaning of 1000 [Greek khilioi thousand]

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kilo-

1. A prefix that means:

2. One thousand, as in kilowatt, one thousand watts.

3. 2¹⁰ (that is, 1,024), which is the power of 2 closest to 1,000, as in kilobyte.