kilobyte

kilobyte — noun

1. a standard measure of digital information that equals 1,024 bytes, commonly used

1.名詞B1
釋義

a standard measure of digital information that equals 1,024 bytes, commonly used to describe computer memory capacity or the size of files

例句

The email Yuki sent was only two kilobytes in size.

collocation: [number] kilobytes in size

Each character in a plain text file takes up about one kilobyte of storage space.

collocation: kilobyte of [storage/memory/data]

同義詞
  • kibibyte

    the precise IEC term for 1,024 bytes; less common in casual usage but preferred in technical documentation

  • unit of memory

    a more general phrase describing what a kilobyte measures

用法筆記

Commonly abbreviated as KB (with capital K). This definition is standard when talking about computer memory (RAM, ROM) and traditional file-size measurements. The term 'kibibyte' (KiB) was introduced by the IEC in 1998 as the exact name for 1,024 bytes, but 'kilobyte' remains far more common in everyday computing.

常見錯誤

❌The flash drive holds 64 kilobytes, which is exactly 64,000 bytes.
✅The flash drive holds 64 kilobytes, which is 65,536 bytes (64 × 1,024).
💡In computer memory contexts, 1 kilobyte equals 1,024 bytes, not 1,000.
❌Download speeds are measured in KB/s, meaning 1,000 bytes per second.
✅Download speeds are measured in KB/s, and each KB is 1,024 bytes.
💡The binary definition is standard in operating system displays.

2. a decimal measure of digital information that equals 1,000 bytes, consistent wit

2.名詞B2
釋義

a decimal measure of digital information that equals 1,000 bytes, consistent with the International System of Units (SI); used mainly by storage device makers and in data transfer speed specifications

例句

Hard drive manufacturers often measure a kilobyte as 1,000 bytes rather than 1,024.

contrast: decimal (1,000) vs binary (1,024)

The network transfer rate was shown as 50 kilobytes per second using the decimal system.

context: data transfer rate

同義詞
  • kB

    the SI abbreviation with lowercase k, used to distinguish the decimal definition

用法筆記

Often abbreviated as kB (lowercase k). This definition follows the SI metric system and is common in hard drive, solid-state drive, and network speed specifications. Operating systems typically report sizes using the binary definition (1,024 bytes), which can cause confusion when the advertised capacity differs from what the computer displays.

常見錯誤

❌My 256 kB SSD is exactly 262,144 bytes.
✅My 256 kB SSD is exactly 256,000 bytes when the decimal definition is used.
💡Storage manufacturers use 1 kB = 1,000 bytes; check whether the source is decimal or binary.