2 PHRASE If you make a killing , you make a large profit very quickly and easily. [INFORMAL ] □ [+ on ] They have made a killing on the deal. SYNONYMS killing NOUN 1
murder: …brutal murders.
massacre: Maria lost her 62-year-old mother in the massacre.
slaughter: …the slaughter of seal pups on the east coast of Canada.
execution: Execution by lethal injection is scheduled for July 30th. COLLOCATIONS killing NOUN 1
noun + killing : gangland, honour, revenge
adjective + killing : brutal, cold-blooded, gruesome, senseless; extrajudicial, sectarian, targeted; indiscriminate, mass, random
kill|joy /k I ldʒɔ I / (killjoys ) N‑COUNT If you call someone a killjoy , you are critical of them because they stop other people from enjoying themselves, often by reminding them of something unpleasant. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ Don't be such a killjoy!
kiln /k I ln/ (kilns ) N‑COUNT A kiln is an oven that is used to bake pottery and bricks in order to make them hard.
kilo /kiː loʊ/ (kilos ) N‑COUNT [num N ] A kilo is the same as a kilogram . □ [+ in ] He'd lost ten kilos in weight. □ [+ of ] …a kilo of rice.
PREFIX kilo-
forms words that refer to things that have a thousand parts. For example, a kilometre is a thousand metres.
kilo|byte /k I ləba I t/ (kilobytes ) N‑COUNT In computing, a kilobyte is one thousand bytes of data. [COMPUTING ]
kilo|gram /k I ləgræm/ (kilograms ) also kilogramme N‑COUNT [num N ] A kilogram is a metric unit of weight. One kilogram is a thousand grams, or a thousandth of a metric ton, and is equal to 2.2 pounds. □ …a parcel weighing around 4.5 kilograms. [Also + of ]
kilo|hertz /k I ləhɜː r ts/ (kilohertz ) N‑COUNT [num N ] A kilohertz is a unit of measurement of radio waves. One kilohertz is a thousand hertz.
kilo|metre ◆◇◇ /k I ləmiːtə r , k I lɒ m I tə r / (kilometres ) in AM, use kilometer N‑COUNT [num N ] A kilometre is a metric unit of distance or length. One kilometre is a thousand metres and is equal to 0.62 miles. □ [+ from ] …about twenty kilometres from the border. □ [+ of ] The fire destroyed some 40,000 square kilometres of forest.
kilo|watt /k I ləwɒt/ (kilowatts ) N‑COUNT [num N ] A kilowatt is a unit of power. One kilowatt is a thousand watts.
ki lowatt-hour (kilowatt-hours ) N‑COUNT A kilowatt-hour is a unit of energy that is equal to the energy provided by a thousand watts in one hour.
kilt /k I lt/ (kilts ) N‑COUNT A kilt is a skirt with a lot of vertical folds, traditionally worn by Scottish men. Kilts can also be worn by women and girls.
kil|ter /k I ltə r /
1 PHRASE If one thing is out of kilter with another, the first thing does not agree with or fit in with the second. □ Her lifestyle was out of kilter with her politics.
2 PHRASE If something or someone is out of kilter or off kilter , they are not completely right. □ Ignoring feelings of tiredness knocks our body clocks out of kilter.
ki|mo|no /k I moʊ noʊ, [AM ] -nə/ (kimonos ) N‑COUNT A kimono is an item of Japanese clothing. It is long, shaped like a coat, and has wide sleeves.
kin /k I n/
1 N‑PLURAL Your kin are your relatives. [DIALECT or OLD-FASHIONED ] □ She has gone to live with her husband's kin.
2 → see also kith and kin , next of kin
kind
➊ NOUN USES AND PHRASES
➋ ADJECTIVE USES
➊ kind ◆◆◆ /ka I nd/ (kinds )
1 N‑COUNT If you talk about a particular kind of thing, you are talking about one of the types or sorts of that thing. □ [+ of ] The party needs a different kind of leadership. □ [+ of ] Had Jamie ever been in any kind of trouble? □ This book prize is the biggest of its kind in the world.
2 N‑COUNT If you refer to someone's kind , you are referring to all the other people that are like them or that belong to the same class or set. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ I can take care of your kind.
3 PHRASE You can use all kinds of to emphasize that there are a great number and variety of particular things or people. [EMPHASIS ] □ Adoption can fail for all kinds of reasons.
4 PHRASE You use kind of when you want to say that something or someone can be roughly described in a particular way. [SPOKEN , VAGUENESS ] □ It was kind of sad, really.
5 PHRASE You can use of a kind to indicate that something is not as good as it might be expected to be, but that it seems to be the best that is possible or available. □ This, in itself, is bravery of a kind.
6 PHRASE If you refer to someone or something as one of a kind , you mean that there is nobody or nothing else like them. [APPROVAL ] □ She's a very unusual woman, one of a kind.
7 PHRASE If you refer, for example, to two, three, or four of a kind , you mean two, three, or four similar people or things that seem to go well or belong together. □ They were two of a kind, from the same sort of background.
8 PHRASE If you respond in kind , you react to something that someone has done to you by doing the same thing to them. □ They hurled defiant taunts at the riot police, who responded in kind.