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Kilobyte: meaning, definitions and examples

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kilobyte

 

[ ˈkɪləˌbaɪt ]

Noun
Context #1 | Noun

data measurement

A kilobyte is a unit of digital information that consists of 1,024 bytes. It is commonly used to measure file sizes, memory capacity, and data transfer rates. In some contexts, it may also refer to 1,000 bytes, especially in the context of storage devices.

Synonyms

1,024 bytes, kB.

Examples of usage

  • The image file is 150 kilobytes in size.
  • This document takes up about 2 kilobytes of space.
  • A typical text file might be only a few kilobytes.

Etymology

The term 'kilobyte' derives from the metric prefix 'kilo-', which means one thousand, and the byte, a basic unit of digital information in computing. The use of 'kilo-' originally intended to signify 1,000 units, but in computing, it is defined as 2^10 (1,024) bytes due to binary-based computing systems. This distinction reflects the way computers process data, particularly in memory storage and data management. The first recorded use of 'kilobyte' in this sense appeared in the late 1950s as part of the early discussions around data storage capacities. Over the years, the kilobyte has become a fundamental measurement unit in computing, alongside larger units like megabytes and gigabytes, as the need for increasingly larger data management and storage capabilities arose.

Word Frequency Rank

At position #40,262, this word is among the less frequently used terms in English. While interesting to know, it's not crucial for most English learners unless needed for specific purposes.