Kilowatt Meaning
/ˈkɪ.ləˌwɒt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounOne thousand (10³) watts, an amount of power large enough to power such things as a typical home appliance (e.g., a microwave oven, a toaster, or a hair dryer). (Consuming 1 kilowatt during a duration of 1 hour consumes 1 kilowatt-hour of energy.)
nounCatachresis for kilowatt-hour.
Sentence Examples
The air conditioner uses one kilowatt.
The generator produced two kilowatt.
Home energy consumption is measured in kilowatt-hours.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The large air conditioner requires 5 ____ to run, which is 5000 watts.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a unit of power that is equal to one thousand watts in the international system of units.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English kilo- English watt English kilowatt From kilo- + watt.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And one California kilowatt equals 3 East Coast KWs. And—as everybody knows that—we, on the East Coast, are the only legal ones."
— 1974, CQ: The Radio Amateurs' Journal, volume 30, number 1, page 36:
"Each turbogenerator consisted of a steam turbine, powered by 900 psi of superheated steam, that was coupled by a set of reduction gears to a General Electric marine alternating-current generator operating at 1,800 rpm. Each generator had a capacity of 2,000 kilowatts of three-phase power at 450 volts and 60 hertz. The main 450-volt switchboard was energized by the two turbogenerators. The emergency switchboard, in the emergency generator room, was fed from the main switchboard through an electrical tie."
— 2017 December 12, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.3.5 Electrical Generation and Distribution System”, in Marine Accident Report: Sinking of US Cargo Vessel SS El Faro, Atlantic Ocean, Northeast of Acklins and Crooked Island, Bahamas, October 1, 2015, archived from the original on 15 May 2022, pages 36–37:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The large air conditioner requires 5 ____ to run, which is 5000 watts.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a unit of power that is equal to one thousand watts in the international system of units.