KO [(,)kā-'ō, 'kā-(,)ō] -n

  1. knockout
  2. to knock out (as in boxing)

koa ['kō-ə] -n

  1. a Hawaiian timber tree ( Acacia koa) with crescent-shaped phyllodes and pale yellow flowers borne in small round heads
  2. the fine-grained red wood of the koa used esp. for furniture

ko·ala [kə-'wä-lə, kō-'ä-] -n

  1. an Australian arboreal marsupial ( Phascolarctos cinereus) that has a broad head, large hairy ears, dense gray fur, and sharp claws and feeds on eucalyptus leaves called also koala bear

ko·an ['kō-,än] -n

  1. a paradox to be meditated upon that is used to train Zen Buddhist monks to abandon ultimate dependence on reason and to force them into gaining sudden intuitive enlightenment

ko·bo ['kō-(,)bō] -n

  1. see naira at

ko·bold ['kō-,bȯld] -n

  1. a gnome that in German folklore inhabits underground places
  2. an often mischievous domestic spirit of German folklore

Ko·di·ak bear ['kō-dē-,ak-] -n

  1. a large brown bear of the southern coast of Alaska and adjacent islands

kohl ['kōl] -n

  1. a preparation used esp. in Arabia and Egypt to darken the edges of the eyelids

kohl·ra·bi [kōl-'rä-bē also -'ra-] -n

  1. a cabbage ( Brassica oleracea gongylodes) having a greatly enlarged, fleshy, turnip-shaped edible stem
  2. its stem used as a vegetable

koi ['kȯi] -n

  1. a carp ( Cyprinus carpio) bred esp. in Japan for large size and a variety of colors and often stocked in ornamental ponds

koi·ne [kȯi-'nā, 'kȯi-,; kē-'nē] -n

  1. the Greek language commonly spoken and written in eastern Mediterranean countries in the Hellenistic and Roman periods
  2. a dialect or language of a region that has become the common or standard language of a larger area

ko·kan·ee [kō-'ka-nē] -n

  1. a small landlocked sockeye salmon

koksa·ghyz [,kōk-sə-'gēz, ,käk-, -'giz] -n

  1. a perennial Asian dandelion ( Taraxacum kok-saghyz) cultivated for its fleshy roots that have a high rubber content

ko·la nut ['kō-lə-] -n

  1. the bitter caffeine-containing chestnut-sized seed of a kola tree used esp. as a masticatory and in beverages

kola tree -n

  1. an African tree (genus Cola,esp. C. nitidaand C. acuminataof the family Sterculiaceae) cultivated in various tropical areas for its kola nuts

ko·lin·sky [kə-'lin(t)-skē] -n

  1. any of several Asian weasels (esp. Mustela siberica)
  2. the fur or pelt of a kolinsky

kol·khoz [käl-'kȯz, -'kȯs] -n

  1. a collective farm of the former U.S.S.R.

kol·khoz·nik [käl-'kȯz-nik] -n

  1. a member of a kolkhoz

Kol Ni·dre [kōl-'ni-(,)drā, kȯl-, -drə; -ni-'drā] -n

  1. a formula for the annulment of private vows chanted in the synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur

ko·lo ['kō-(,)lō] -n

  1. a central European folk dance in which dancers form a circle and progress slowly to right or left while one or more dancers perform elaborate steps in the center

ko·mat·ik [kō-'ma-tik] -n

  1. an Eskimo sledge with wooden runners and crossbars lashed with rawhide

kom·bu ['käm-(,)bü] -n

  1. a laminarian kelp used esp. in Japanese cooking as a seasoning in soup stock

Ko·mo·do dragon [kə-'mō-dō-] -n

  1. an Indonesian monitor lizard ( Varanus komodoensis) that is the largest of all known lizards and may attain a length of 10 feet (3 meters)

ko·mon·dor ['kä-mən-,dȯr, 'kō-] -n

  1. any of a breed of large powerful shaggy-coated white dogs of Hungarian origin that are used to guard sheep

Kom·so·mol ['käm-sə-,mȯl, -,mōl] -n

  1. a Russian Communist youth organization

Kon·go ['käŋ-(,)gō] -n

  1. a member of a Bantu people of the lower Congo River
  2. the Bantu language of the Kongo people

Kon·ka·ni ['käŋ-kə-(,)nē] -n

  1. an Indo-Aryan language of the west coast of India

koodoo ['kü-(,)dü] -n

(variant of kudu)

  1. a large grayish brown African antelope ( Tragelaphus strepsiceros) with large annulated spirally twisted horns
  2. a related antelope ( T. imberbis)

kook ['kük] -n

  1. one whose ideas or actions are eccentric, fantastic, or insane : screwball

kook·a·bur·ra ['ku̇-kə-,bər-ə, -,bə-rə] -n

  1. a brownish kingfisher ( Dacelo novaeguineaesyn. D. gigas) of Australia that is about the size of a crow and has a call resembling loud laughter called also laughing jackass

kooky ['kü-kē] -adj, n

  1. having the characteristics of a kook : crazy, offbeat

Koo·te·nai ['kü-tə-,nā, -,nē] -n

  1. a member of an American Indian people of the Rocky Mountains in both the U.S. and Canada
  2. the language of the Kootenai people

ko·peck ['kō-,pek] -n

  1. see ruble at

koph ['kōf] -n

(variant of qoph)

  1. the 19th letter of the Hebrew alphabet

ko·piy·ka [,kō-'pē-kä] -n

  1. see hryvnia at

kop·je ['kä-pē] -n

  1. a small usu. rocky hill esp. on the African veld

kor ['kȯr] -n

(variant of cor)

  1. an ancient Hebrew and Phoenician unit of measure of capacity
  2. corner
  3. coroner
  4. corpus
  5. corresponding

Kor -abbr

  1. Korea; Korean

ko·ra ['kȯr-ə] -n

  1. a 21-stringed African musical instrument resembling a lute

Ko·ran [kə-'ran, -'rän; 'kȯr-,an] -n, adj

  1. the book composed of sacred writings accepted by Muslims as revelations made to Muhammad by Allah through the angel Gabriel

Ko·rat [kō-'rät, kȯ-] -n

  1. any of a breed of short-haired domestic cats originating in Thailand and having a heart-shaped face, a silver-blue coat, and usu. green eyes

ko·re ['kȯ-(,)rā, 'kō-] -n

  1. an ancient Greek statue of a clothed young woman standing with feet together

Ko·re·an [kə-'rē-ən, esp Southern (,)kō-] -n, adj

  1. a native or inhabitant of Korea
  2. the language of the Korean people

kor·ma ['kȯr-mə] -n

  1. an Indian dish of usu. braised meat or vegetables cooked with spices and often yogurt or cream

ko·sher ['kō-shər] -adj

  1. sanctioned by Jewish law
  2. ritually fit for use
    • kosher meat
  3. selling or serving food ritually fit according to Jewish law
    • a kosher restaurant
  4. being proper, acceptable, or satisfactory
    • made sure the deal was kosher

kosher [-sh(ə-)riŋ] -vt

  1. to make kosher
  2. the observance of kosher practices
    • keep kosher

ko·to ['kō-(,)tō] -n

  1. a long Japanese zither having 13 strings

kou·miss [kü-'mis, 'kü-məs] -n

  1. a beverage of fermented mare's milk made orig. by the nomadic peoples of central Asia

kou·prey ['kü-,prā] -n

  1. a rare short-haired ox ( Bos sauveli) having a large dewlap and found in forests in parts of Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam

kou·ros ['kü-,rȯs] -n

  1. an ancient Greek statue of a nude male youth standing with the left leg forward and arms at the sides

kow·tow [(,)kau̇-'tau̇, 'kau̇-,] -n

  1. an act of kowtowing

kowtow -vi

  1. to show obsequious deference : fawn
    • kowtow s to the boss
  2. to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in token of homage, worship, or deep respect