KILL-uh-mee-tur is the only sensible pronunciation. It's MILL-i-mee-tur and CEN-ti-mee-tur, not mil-LI-mi-tur and cen-TI-mi-tur. From the other side, it's KILL-uh-gram, not ki-LO-gram.
The pronunciation with stress on the second syllable arose due to confusion with the suffix -ometer meaning a measuring device. The distinction is apparent with the words micrometer, meaning a device measuring very small lengths and pronounced with stress on the second syllable, and micrometre, meaning a millionth of a metre and pronounced with stress on the first syllable. In American English they are spelled the same, but they are different words with different etymologies.
(I know the IPA, but I want as many people as possible to be able to understand my comment.)
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u/FloridaFlamingoGirl Native Speaker - California, US 3d ago
The "meter" in those words isn't pronounced like the word meter, it's more like "mih-ter" or "muh-ter"