KO [(,)kā-'ō, 'kā-(,)ō] -n
- knockout
- to knock out (as in boxing)
koa ['kō-ə] -n
- a Hawaiian timber tree ( Acacia koa) with crescent-shaped phyllodes and pale yellow flowers borne in small round heads
- the fine-grained red wood of the koa used esp. for furniture
ko·ala [kə-'wä-lə, kō-'ä-] -n
- 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
- 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
- see naira at
ko·bold ['kō-,bȯld] -n
- a gnome that in German folklore inhabits underground places
- an often mischievous domestic spirit of German folklore
Ko·di·ak bear ['kō-dē-,ak-] -n
- a large brown bear of the southern coast of Alaska and adjacent islands
kohl ['kōl] -n
- a preparation used esp. in Arabia and Egypt to darken the edges of the eyelids
kohl·ra·bi [kōl-'rä-bē also -'ra-] -n
- a cabbage ( Brassica oleracea gongylodes) having a greatly enlarged, fleshy, turnip-shaped edible stem
- its stem used as a vegetable
koi ['kȯi] -n
- 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
- the Greek language commonly spoken and written in eastern Mediterranean countries in the Hellenistic and Roman periods
- 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
- a small landlocked sockeye salmon
koksa·ghyz [,kōk-sə-'gēz, ,käk-, -'giz] -n
- a perennial Asian dandelion ( Taraxacum kok-saghyz) cultivated for its fleshy roots that have a high rubber content
ko·la nut ['kō-lə-] -n
- the bitter caffeine-containing chestnut-sized seed of a kola tree used esp. as a masticatory and in beverages
kola tree -n
- 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
- any of several Asian weasels (esp. Mustela siberica)
- the fur or pelt of a kolinsky
kol·khoz [käl-'kȯz, -'kȯs] -n
- a collective farm of the former U.S.S.R.
kol·khoz·nik [käl-'kȯz-nik] -n
- a member of a kolkhoz
Kol Ni·dre [kōl-'ni-(,)drā, kȯl-, -drə; -ni-'drā] -n
- a formula for the annulment of private vows chanted in the synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur
ko·lo ['kō-(,)lō] -n
- 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
- an Eskimo sledge with wooden runners and crossbars lashed with rawhide
kom·bu ['käm-(,)bü] -n
- a laminarian kelp used esp. in Japanese cooking as a seasoning in soup stock
Ko·mo·do dragon [kə-'mō-dō-] -n
- 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
- 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
- a Russian Communist youth organization
Kon·go ['käŋ-(,)gō] -n
- a member of a Bantu people of the lower Congo River
- the Bantu language of the Kongo people
Kon·ka·ni ['käŋ-kə-(,)nē] -n
- an Indo-Aryan language of the west coast of India
koodoo ['kü-(,)dü] -n
(variant of kudu)
- a large grayish brown African antelope ( Tragelaphus strepsiceros) with large annulated spirally twisted horns
- a related antelope ( T. imberbis)
kook ['kük] -n
- one whose ideas or actions are eccentric, fantastic, or insane : screwball
kook·a·bur·ra ['ku̇-kə-,bər-ə, -,bə-rə] -n
- 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
- having the characteristics of a kook : crazy, offbeat
Koo·te·nai ['kü-tə-,nā, -,nē] -n
- a member of an American Indian people of the Rocky Mountains in both the U.S. and Canada
- the language of the Kootenai people
ko·peck ['kō-,pek] -n
- see ruble at
koph ['kōf] -n
(variant of qoph)
- the 19th letter of the Hebrew alphabet
ko·piy·ka [,kō-'pē-kä] -n
- see hryvnia at
kop·je ['kä-pē] -n
- a small usu. rocky hill esp. on the African veld
kor ['kȯr] -n
(variant of cor)
- an ancient Hebrew and Phoenician unit of measure of capacity
- corner
- coroner
- corpus
- corresponding
Kor -abbr
- Korea; Korean
ko·ra ['kȯr-ə] -n
- a 21-stringed African musical instrument resembling a lute
Ko·ran [kə-'ran, -'rän; 'kȯr-,an] -n, adj
- 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
- 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
- an ancient Greek statue of a clothed young woman standing with feet together
Ko·re·an [kə-'rē-ən, esp Southern (,)kō-] -n, adj
- a native or inhabitant of Korea
- the language of the Korean people
kor·ma ['kȯr-mə] -n
- an Indian dish of usu. braised meat or vegetables cooked with spices and often yogurt or cream
ko·sher ['kō-shər] -adj
- sanctioned by Jewish law
- ritually fit for use
- selling or serving food ritually fit according to Jewish law
- being proper, acceptable, or satisfactory
- made sure the deal was kosher
kosher [-sh(ə-)riŋ] -vt
- to make kosher
- the observance of kosher practices
ko·to ['kō-(,)tō] -n
- a long Japanese zither having 13 strings
kou·miss [kü-'mis, 'kü-məs] -n
- a beverage of fermented mare's milk made orig. by the nomadic peoples of central Asia
kou·prey ['kü-,prā] -n
- 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
- 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
- an act of kowtowing
kowtow -vi
- to show obsequious deference : fawn
- to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in token of homage, worship, or deep respect