k ['kā] -n

  1. the 11th letter of the English alphabet
  2. a graphic representation of this letter
  3. a speech counterpart of orthographic k
  4. a graphic device for reproducing the letter k
  5. one designated kesp. as the 11th in order or class
  6. something shaped like the letter K
  7. a unit vector parallel to the z-axis
  8. thousand
    • a salary of 24 K
  9. a unit of computer storage capacity equal to 1024 bytes
    • uses 350 K of disk space
  10. strikeout
  11. karat
  12. kindergarten
  13. king
  14. kitchen
  15. knit
  16. knot
  17. koruna
  18. kosher often enclosed in a circle
  19. kyat

K -abbr

  1. Kelvin
  2. kilometer
  3. potassium

ka -abbr

  1. cathode

Kaa·ba ['kä-bə] -n

  1. a small stone building in the court of the Great Mosque at Mecca that contains a sacred black stone and is the goal of Islamic pilgrimage and the point toward which Muslims turn in praying

kab·ba·lah [kə-'bä-lə, 'ka-bə-lə] -n, adj

  1. a medieval and modern system of Jewish theosophy, mysticism, and thaumaturgy marked by belief in creation through emanation and a cipher method of interpreting Scripture
  2. a traditional, esoteric, occult, or secret matter
  3. esoteric doctrine or mysterious art

kabob [kə-'bäb also 'kā-,] -n

(variant of kebab)

  1. cubes of meat (as lamb or beef) marinated and cooked with vegetables usu. on a skewer

Ka·bu·ki [kə-'bü-kē, 'kä-bü-(,)kē] -n

  1. traditional Japanese popular drama performed with highly stylized singing and dancing

Ka·byle [kə-'bī(-ə)l] -n

  1. a member of a Berber people living in the mountainous coastal area east of Algiers
  2. the Berber language of the Kabyles

ka·chi·na [kə-'chē-nə] -n

  1. one of the deified ancestral spirits believed among the Hopi and other Pueblo Indians to visit the pueblos at intervals
  2. one of the elaborately masked kachina impersonators that dance at agricultural ceremonies
  3. a doll representing a kachina

kad·dish ['kä-dish] -n

  1. a Jewish prayer recited in the daily ritual of the synagogue and by mourners at public services after the death of a close relative

kaf·fee·klatsch ['kȯ-fē-,klach, 'kä-fē-, -,kläch, -,kləch] -n

  1. an informal social gathering for coffee and conversation

Kaf·fir ['ka-fər] -n

  1. a member of a group of southern African Bantu-speaking peoples
  2. a black African

Kaffir lime -n

  1. a citrus tree ( Citrus hystrix) of southeastern Asia having aromatic leaves and roundish thick-rinded green fruits used esp. in Thai cooking
  2. its leaves or fruit

kaf·fi·yeh [kə-'fē-ə] -n

  1. an Arab headdress consisting of a square of cloth folded to form a triangle and held on by a cord

kaf·ir ['ka-fər] -n

  1. a grain sorghum with stout short-jointed somewhat juicy stalks and erect heads

Kaf·ir ['ka-fər] -n

  1. nuristani

Kaf·iri ['ka-fə-rē] -n

  1. nuristani

Kaf·ka·esque [,käf-kə-'esk, ,kaf-] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or suggestive of Franz Kafka or his writings
  2. having a nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical quality
    • Kafkaesque bureaucratic delays

kaftan ['kaf-(,)tan] -n

(variant of caftan)

  1. a usu. cotton or silk ankle-length garment with long sleeves that is common throughout the Levant

ka·hu·na [kə-'hü-nə] -n

  1. a Hawaiian shaman
  2. a preeminent person or thing : big gun
    • the industry's big kahuna, with...57 percent of the market -- A. E. Serwer

kai·nite ['kī-,nīt, 'kā-] -n

  1. a natural salt KMg(SO 4)Cl3H 2O consisting of a hydrous sulfate and chloride of magnesium and potassium that is used as a fertilizer and as a source of potassium and magnesium compounds

kai·ro·mone ['kī-rə-,mōn, -rō-] -n

  1. a chemical substance emitted by one species and esp. an insect or plant that has an adaptive benefit (as a stimulus for oviposition) to another species

kai·ser ['kī-zər] -n

  1. emperor
  2. the ruler of Germany from 1871 to 1918

kai·se·rin ['kī-zə-rən] -n

  1. the wife of a kaiser

kaiser roll -n

  1. a round crusty roll often used for sandwiches

ka·ka ['kä-kə] -n

  1. an olive-brown New Zealand parrot ( Nestor meridionalis) with gray and red markings

ka·ka·po [,kä-kə-'pō] -n

  1. a large chiefly nocturnal burrowing New Zealand parrot ( Strigops habroptilus) that has green and brown barred plumage and well-developed wings with little power of flight

ka·ke·mo·no [,kä-ki-'mō-(,)nō] -n

  1. a vertical Japanese ornamental pictorial or calligraphic scroll

ka·ki·e·mon [,kä-kē-'ā-,män] -n

  1. a Japanese porcelain decorated with enamel

ka·laazar [,kä-lə-ə-'zär, ,ka-] -n

  1. a severe parasitic disease chiefly of tropical areas that is marked by fever, progressive anemia, leukopenia, and enlargement of the spleen and liver and caused by a leishmania ( Leishmania donovani) transmitted by the bite of sand flies

ka·la·ma·ta [,kä-lə-'mä-tə, ,ka-] -n

  1. a brine-cured black olive grown in Greece

ka·lan·choe [,ka-lən-'kō-ē also kə-'laŋ-kə-(,)wē or 'ka-lən-,chō] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Kalanchoe) of chiefly African tropical succulent herbs or shrubs of the orpine family often cultivated as ornamentals called also bryophyllum

Ka·lash·ni·kov [kə-'lash-nə-,kȯf, -'läsh-, -'käf] -n

  1. a Soviet-designed assault rifle
  2. AK-47

kale ['kāl] -n

  1. cole
  2. a hardy cabbage ( Brassica oleracea acephala) with curled often finely incised leaves that do not form a dense head
  3. its leaves used as a vegetable
  4. money

ka·lei·do·scope [kə-'lī-də-,skōp] -n, adj, adv

  1. an instrument containing loose bits of colored material (as glass or plastic) between two flat plates and two plane mirrors so placed that changes of position of the bits of material are reflected in an endless variety of patterns
  2. : something resembling a kaleidoscope: as
  3. a variegated changing pattern or scene
    • a kaleidoscope of colors
  4. a succession of changing phases or actions
    • a kaleidoscope of changing fashions
  5. a diverse collection

kalends ['ka-lən(d)z, 'kā-] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

(variant of calends)

  1. the first day of the ancient Roman month from which days were counted backward to the ides

Ka·li ['kä-,lē] -n

  1. the Hindu goddess of death and destruction

kal·li·din ['ka-lə-dən] -n

  1. : either of two vasodilator kinins formed from blood plasma globulin by the action of kallikrein:
  2. bradykinin
  3. one with a terminal lysine amino acid residue added to bradykinin

kal·li·kre·in [,ka-lə-'krē-ən, kə-'li-krē-ən] -n

  1. a hypotensive protease that liberates kinins from blood plasma proteins and is used therapeutically for vasodilation

Kal·muck ['kal-,mək, kal-'] -n

  1. a member of a Buddhist Mongol people orig. of Dzungaria living mainly northwest of the Caspian Sea in Russia
  2. the Mongolian language of the Kalmucks

Ka·ma ['kä-mə] -n

  1. the Hindu god of love

ka·ma·ai·na [,kä-mə-'ī-nə] -n

  1. one who has lived in Hawaii for a long time

kame ['kām] -n

  1. a short ridge, hill, or mound of stratified drift deposited by glacial meltwater

Ka·me·ha·me·ha Day [kə-,mā-ə-'mā-(,)hä-] -n

  1. June 11 observed as a holiday in Hawaii in commemoration of the birthday of Kamehameha I

ka·mi·ka·ze [,kä-mi-'kä-zē] -n

  1. a member of a Japanese air attack corps in World War II assigned to make a suicidal crash on a target (as a ship)
  2. an airplane containing explosives to be flown in a suicide crash on a target

kamikaze -adj

  1. of, relating to, or resembling a kamikaze
  2. having or showing reckless disregard for safety or personal welfare

kam·pong ['käm-,pȯŋ, 'kam-] -n

  1. a hamlet or village in a Malay-speaking country

Kan -abbr

  1. Kansas

ka·na ['kä-nə] -n

  1. a Japanese system of syllabic writing having characters that can be used exclusively for writing foreign words or in combination with kanji (as for indicating pronunciations or grammatical inflections)
  2. a single character belonging to the kana system

Ka·nak [kə-'näk, -'nak] -n

  1. a native Melanesian inhabitant of New Caledonia

kana·my·cin [,ka-nə-'mī-sᵊn] -n

  1. a broad-spectrum antibiotic from a Japanese soil streptomyces ( Streptomyces kanamyceticus)

Kan·a·rese [,ka-nə-'rēz, -'rēs] -n

  1. kannada
  2. a member of a Kannada-speaking people of Karnataka, southern India

kan·ban ['kän-,bän] -n

  1. just-in-time

kan·ga·roo [,kaŋ-gə-'rü] -n

  1. any of various herbivorous leaping marsupial mammals (family Macropodidae) of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands with a small head, large ears, long powerful hind legs, a long thick tail used as a support and in balancing, and rather small forelegs not used in locomotion

kangaroo court -n

  1. a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted
  2. a court characterized by irresponsible, unauthorized, or irregular status or procedures
  3. judgment or punishment given outside of legal procedure

kangaroo rat -n

  1. any of a genus ( Dipodomys) of nocturnal burrowing rodents of arid parts of western No. America that travel by hopping on their long hind legs and have a long tail and fur-lined cheek pouches

kan·ji ['kän-(,)jē] -n

  1. a Japanese system of writing that utilizes characters borrowed or adapted from Chinese writing
  2. a single character in the kanji system

Kan·na·da ['kä-nə-də also 'ka-] -n

  1. the major Dravidian language of Karnataka, southern India

kan·te·le ['kän-tə-lə] -n

  1. a traditional Finnish zither orig. having five strings but now having as many as thirty

ka·o·lin ['kā-ə-lən] -n

  1. a fine usu. white clay that is used in ceramics and refractories, as a filler or extender, and in medicine esp. as an adsorbent in the treatment of diarrhea

ka·o·lin·ite [-lə-,nīt] -n, adj

  1. a white mineral consisting of a hydrous silicate of aluminum that constitutes the principal mineral in kaolin

ka·on ['kā-,än] -n

  1. an unstable meson that occurs in both charged and neutral forms and is about 970 times more massive than an electron

ka·pell·meis·ter [kə-'pel-,mīs-tər, kä-] -n

  1. the director of a choir or orchestra

ka·pey·ka [kä-'pā-kä] -n

  1. see rubel at

kaph ['käf, 'kȯf] -n

  1. the 11th letter of the Hebrew alphabet

ka·pok ['kā-,päk] -n

  1. a mass of silky fibers that invest the seeds of the ceiba tree and are used esp. as a filling for mattresses, life preservers, and sleeping bags and as insulation

Ka·po·si's sarcoma ['ka-pə-sēz- also -shēz-, kə-'pō-sēz-] -n

  1. a neoplastic disease that occurs esp. in individuals coinfected with HIV and a specific herpesvirus (species Human herpesvirus 8of the genus Rhadinovirus), that affects esp. the skin and mucous membranes, and that is marked usu. by pink to reddish-brown or bluish plaques, macules, papules, or nodules esp. on the lower extremities abbr. KS

kap·pa ['ka-pə] -n

  1. the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet

ka·put [kə-'pu̇t, kä-, -'püt] -adj

  1. utterly finished, defeated, or destroyed
  2. unable to function
  3. hopelessly outmoded

karabiner [,ker-ə-'bē-nər, ,ka-rə-] -n

(variant of carabiner)

  1. an oblong metal ring with one spring-hinged side that is used esp. in mountain climbing as a connector and to hold a freely running rope

Kara·ism ['ker-ə-,i-zəm, 'ka-rə-] -n

  1. a Jewish doctrine originating in Baghdad in the eighth century that rejects rabbinism and talmudism and bases its tenets on Scripture alone

kar·a·kul ['ker-ə-kəl, 'ka-rə-] -n

  1. any of a breed of hardy fat-tailed sheep of central Asian origin with a narrow body and coarse wiry fur
  2. the usu. curly glossy black coat of a very young karakul lamb valued as fur

kar·a·o·ke [,ker-ē-'ō-kē, ,ka-rē- also kə-'rō-kē, ,kä-rä-'ō-(,)kā] -n

  1. a device that plays instrumental accompaniments for a selection of songs to which the user sings along and that records the user's singing with the music
  2. a form of entertainment involving the use of a karaoke machine

kar·at ['ker-ət, 'ka-rət] -n

  1. a unit of fineness for gold equal to part of pure gold in an alloy

ka·ra·te [kə-'rä-tē] -n

  1. a Japanese art of self-defense employing hand strikes and kicks to disable or subdue an opponent

ka·ra·ya gum [kə-'rī-ə-] -n

  1. any of several vegetable gums similar to tragacanth and often used as substitutes for it that are obtained from tropical Asian trees (genera Sterculiaof the family Sterculiaceae and Cochlospermumof the family Bixaceae)
  2. one derived from an Indian tree ( S. urens)

Ka·re·lian [kə-'rē-lē-ən, -'rēl-yən] -n, adj

  1. a native or inhabitant of Karelia
  2. the Finno-Ugric language of the Karelians

Ka·ren [kə-'ren] -n

  1. a member of a group of peoples of eastern and southern Myanmar
  2. a group of languages spoken by the Karen peoples
  3. a language of this group

kar·ma ['kär-mə also 'kər-] -n, adj

  1. the force generated by a person's actions held in Hinduism and Buddhism to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the person's next existence
  2. vibration

ka·roo [kə-'rü] -n

  1. a dry tableland of southern Africa

ka·ross [kə-'räs] -n

  1. a simple garment or rug of skins used esp. by native tribesmen of southern Africa

karst ['kärst] -n, adj

  1. an irregular limestone region with sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns

kart ['kärt] -n

  1. go-kart

kary- -comb form

  1. nucleus of a cell
    • karyo kinesis
  2. nut : kernel
    • cary opsis

kar·y·og·a·my [,ka-rē-'ä-gə-mē] -n

  1. the fusion of cell nuclei (as in fertilization)

kar·yo·ki·ne·sis [,ka-rē-ō-kə-'nē-səs, -kī-] -n, adj

  1. the nuclear phenomena characteristic of mitosis
  2. the whole process of mitosis

kar·y·ol·o·gy [,ka-rē-'ä-lə-jē] -n, adj

  1. the minute cytological characteristics of the cell nucleus esp. with regard to the chromosomes
  2. a branch of cytology concerned with the karyology of cell nuclei

kar·yo·some ['ka-rē-ə-,sōm] -n

  1. a mass of chromatin in a cell nucleus that resembles a nucleolus

kar·yo·type ['ka-rē-ə-,tīp] -n, adj, adv

  1. the chromosomal characteristics of a cell
  2. the chromosomes themselves or a representation of them

karyotype -vt

  1. to determine or analyze the karyotype of

Kasbah ['kaz-,bä, 'käz-] -n

(variant of casbah)

  1. a No. African castle or fortress
  2. the native section of a No. African city

ka·sha ['kä-shə, 'ka-] -n

  1. a porridge made usu. from buckwheat groats
  2. kasha grain before cooking

Ka·shan [kə-'shän] -n

  1. an Oriental rug with floral motifs in soft colors

Kash·miri [kash-'mir-ē, kazh-] -n

  1. an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Kashmir
  2. a native or inhabitant of Kashmir

kash·ruth [kä-'shrüt, -'shrüth] -n

  1. the Jewish dietary laws
  2. the state of being kosher

Ka·shu·bi·an [kə-'shü-bē-ən] -n

  1. a Slavic language spoken northwest and southwest of Gdansk

kat ['kät] -n

(variant of khat)

  1. a shrub ( Catha edulis) of the staff-tree family cultivated in the Middle East and Africa for its leaves and buds that are the source of a habituating stimulant when chewed or used as a tea
  2. its leaves and buds

ka·ta ['kä-(,)tä] -n

  1. a set combination of positions and movements (as in karate) performed as an exercise

kat·a·bat·ic [,ka-tə-'ba-tik] -adj

  1. relating to or being a wind produced by the flow of cold dense air down a slope (as of a mountain or glacier) in an area subject to radiational cooling

ka·ta·ka·na [,kä-tə-'kä-nə] -n

  1. the form of Japanese syllabic writing used esp. for scientific terms, official documents, and words adopted from other languages

katchina [kə-'chē-nə] -n

(variant of kachina)

  1. one of the deified ancestral spirits believed among the Hopi and other Pueblo Indians to visit the pueblos at intervals
  2. one of the elaborately masked kachina impersonators that dance at agricultural ceremonies
  3. a doll representing a kachina

Ka·tha·re·vou·sa [,kä-thə-'re-və-,sä] -n

  1. modern Greek conforming to classic Greek usage

ka·thar·sis [kə-'thär-səs] -n

(variant of catharsis)

  1. purgation
  2. purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art
  3. a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension
  4. elimination of a complex by bringing it to consciousness and affording it expression

kat·su·ra tree ['kät-sə-rə-] -n

  1. a deciduous tree ( Cercidiphyllum japonicumof the family Cercidiphyllaceae) of Japan and China sometimes grown as an ornamental for its dark blue-green ovate leaves which turn bright yellow or red in autumn called also katsura

ka·ty·did ['kā-tē-,did] -n

  1. any of various large green American long-horned grasshoppers usu. having stridulating organs on the forewings of the males that produce a loud shrill sound

kat·zen·jam·mer ['kat-sən-,ja-mər] -n

  1. hangover
  2. distress
  3. a discordant clamor

kau·ri ['kau̇(-ə)r-ē] -n

  1. any of various trees (genus Agathis) of the araucaria family
  2. a tall timber tree ( A. australis) of New Zealand having fine white straight-grained wood called also kauri pine
  3. a light-colored to brown resin from the kauri tree found as a fossil in the ground or collected from living trees and used esp. in varnishes and linoleum called also kauri gum kauri resin

ka·va ['kä-və] -n

  1. an Australasian shrubby pepper ( Piper methysticum) from whose crushed root an intoxicating beverage is made
  2. the beverage made from kava
  3. the dried rhizome and roots of the kava used esp. as a dietary supplement chiefly to relieve stress and anxiety

kava kava ['kä-və-'kä-və] -n

  1. kava

Ka·wa·sa·ki disease [,kä-wə-'sä-kē-] -n

  1. an acute illness of unknown cause that chiefly affects infants and children and is characterized esp. by fever, rash, conjunctivitis, inflammation of lips and tongue, and swollen lymph nodes of the neck called also Kawasaki syndrome

kay ['kā] -n

  1. the letter k

Kay ['kā] -n

  1. a boastful overbearing knight of the Round Table who is foster brother and seneschal of King Arthur

kay·ak ['kī-,ak] -n, vi

  1. an Eskimo canoe made of a frame covered with skins except for a small opening in the center and propelled by a double-bladed paddle
  2. a portable boat styled like an Eskimo kayak

kayo [(,)kā-'ō, 'kā-(,)ō] -n

  1. knockout
  2. knock out

Ka·zak [kə-'zak, -'zäk] -n

  1. an Oriental rug in bold colors with geometric designs or stylized plant and animal forms

Ka·zakh [kə-'zak, -'zäk] -n

  1. a member of a Turkic people of Kazakhstan and other countries of central Asia
  2. the language of the Kazakhs

ka·zil·lion [kə-'zil-yən, -'zi-lē-] -n, adj

  1. zillion

ka·zoo [kə-'zü] -n

  1. an instrument that imparts a buzzing quality to the human voice and that usu. consists of a small metal or plastic tube with a side hole covered by a thin membrane

kazoo -n

  1. wazoo