What does “kilat” mean?

Kilat in the Singlish dictionary: what it means, where it comes from and how it’s said.

kilat

Excellent, shiny, spotless (Malay for “lightning”); army slang.

“Polish your boots until kilat.”

kelong Offshore fishing platform on stilts; also a fixed, rigged game.
kena Get hit by, suffer (Malay); marks a bad thing happening to you.
kesian Pitiful, poor thing (Malay).
ketupat Rice cake boiled in a woven coconut-leaf pouch, eaten at Hari Raya.
kopi Coffee, the kopitiam way, strong with condensed milk.
kopi kaki A friend you regularly meet for coffee and chats.
kopitiam A traditional coffee shop with drinks and food stalls (kopi, Malay for coffee, and tiam…
kosong Zero, empty, nothing (Malay); “teh kosong” has no sugar.

What does “kilat” mean in Singlish?

Excellent, shiny, spotless (Malay for “lightning”); army slang. It’s an adjective.

Where does “kilat” come from?

From Malay. Other Singlish words from Malay include kelong, kena, kesian and ketupat.

How do you use “kilat” in a sentence?

“Polish your boots until kilat.”

Is “kilat” in the Singlish Wordle?

Yes: it’s one of the answers in the Singlish Wordle, one word a day, the same for everyone.

Liddat’s own words, from the Singlish dictionary: 312 words and phrases, A to Z.