kilometre

/kɪˈlɒmɪtə/

//kɪˈlɒmɪtə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"kilometre" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“kilometre” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,131. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,131
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An SI unit of length equal to 10³ metres. Symbol: km

Corpus desk

Index EN-kilometre · kilometre · English

kilometre · rank #22,131 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #22,131
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH kali

Nearest frequency peer: kali (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “kilometre”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “kilometre” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

kilometre vs kilometer
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for kilometre
PropertyValue
Headwordkilometre
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɪˈlɒmɪtə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#22,131
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “kilometre”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).kilometrelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “kali” (#22,130), “kink” (#22,132), “Johansson” (#22,129). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “kilometre” is #22,131. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around kilometre (IPA /kɪˈlɒmɪtə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,131 among 1,236 “K” headwords. Dominant gloss: "An SI unit of length equal to 10³ metres. Symbol: km".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for kilometre, with forms such as "iklometre", "killometre", and "kilmoetre". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "kilometer", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- Proto-Indo-European *-lom Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰesliyoy Proto-Hellenic *kʰehliyoi Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi)der. French kilo- Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-trom Prot… The correct English form is kilometre, spelled K-I-L-O-M-E-T-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An SI unit of length equal to 10³ metres. Symbol: km

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how kilometre appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Holonyms: megametre < gigametre < terametre < petametre
  2. Meronyms: picometre < nanometre < micrometre < millimetre < centimetre < decimetre < metre

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- Proto-Indo-European *-lom Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰesliyoy Proto-Hellenic *kʰehliyoi Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi)der. French kilo- Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-trom Proto-Hellenic *-tron Ancient Greek -τρον (-tron) Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron)der. Latin metrumbor. French mètre French kilomètrebor. English kilometre From French kilomètre, from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi, “thousand”) + μέτρον (métron, “measure”); equivalent to kilo- + metre.

This word in other languages

kilómetro(Español)kilomètre(Français)Kilometer(Deutsch)quilômetro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iklometre
  • killometre
  • kilmoetre
  • kiloemtre
  • kilomerte
  • kilometrre
  • kilomettre
  • kilommetre
  • kilomtere
  • kiolmetre
  • kkilometre
  • kliometre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kilometre - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

iklometre2killometre1kilmoetre2kiloemtre2kilomerte2kilometrre1kilomettre1kilommetre1
Edit distance from "kilometre"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "kilometre"?
"kilometre" is spelled K-I-L-O-M-E-T-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kɪˈlɒmɪtə/.
What does "kilometre" mean?
As a noun, "kilometre" means: An SI unit of length equal to 10³ metres. Symbol: km
What words are commonly confused with "kilometre"?
"kilometre" is commonly confused with "kilometer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "kilometre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kilometre" is /kɪˈlɒmɪtə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "kilometre"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- Proto-Indo-European *-lom Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰesliyoy Proto-Hellenic *kʰehliyoi Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi)der. French kilo- Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "kilometre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Johansson#22,129interacts#22,122Mauritius#22,150migratory#22,154

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Leighton12 variantsindecent12 variantsindebted12 variantshorsemen12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list