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kilter

English

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kilter¹

  • /ˈkɪltə/ UK
  • /ˈkɪltɚ/ US

Rhymes with -ɪltə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

A variant of dialectal kelter (“good condition, order”), of unknown origin; possibly related to kilt (“to gather up (skirts) around the body”) (cognate with Danish kilte (“to tuck”)), or Scots kilt (“proper way of doing something, knack”) (probably from kilt (“a slope; a tilt”), possibly a variant of English tilt). In the 19th century, kelter was the more common form in the United Kingdom, while kilter was more common in the United States. Due to the influence of the latter, kilter is now the more prevalent form in all English varieties.

noun kelter

  1. uncountable, in the negative Chiefly in out of kilter: (good) condition, form, or order; fettle. not in kilter

kilter²

  • /ˈkɪltə/ UK
  • /ˈkɪltɚ/ US

Rhymes with -ɪltə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Probably a variant of dialectal kelter (“odds and ends; litter, rubbish”); further etymology unknown.

noun kilters

  1. A hand of playing cards which is useless.

Translations

Every language

noun (good) condition, form, or order

中文良好狀態 /良好状态 liánghǎozhuàngtài
DeutschEinklang, Ordnung, Zustand

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MLA

"kilter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/kilter. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

kilter. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/kilter

Chicago

"kilter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/kilter.

BibTeX
@misc{kilter_2026,
  title = {kilter},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/kilter},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}