English dictionary — definitions & meanings

kraal

noun

In Central and Southern Africa, a small rural community.

Kraft

noun

A strong, tough brown paper commonly used for wrapping, bags, and packaging.

Krakatoa

name

A volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, Indonesia, famous for its catastrophic 1883 eruption.

Kraken

noun

A gigantic legendary sea monster, often pictured as an enormous octopus or squid capable of dragging ships underwater.

Krakow

name

A historic city in southern Poland on the Vistula River, and the former capital of Poland.

Kramer

verb

To burst into a room or appear somewhere abruptly and with comic flair.

Krampus

name

A horned, demonic figure in Alpine folklore who punishes misbehaving children during the Christmas season.

krang

noun

What is left of a whale's carcass after the blubber has been stripped away.

krantz

noun

A steep cliff or rock face, especially one that overhangs or partly encircles an area.

Kraus

name

A surname of German origin.

Krause

name

A surname of German origin.

Krauss

name

A surname of German origin.

Kraut

noun

(informal, often derogatory) A German person.

kravets

name

A surname from the Slavic languages.

Kravitz

name

A surname of Slavic origin, derived from a word meaning "tailor."

krawitz

name

A surname from the Slavic languages.

Kray

name

A surname of German origin, from a word meaning "crow."

Krebs

name

A surname of German origin meaning "crab," also the name of a small city in Oklahoma.

Kremlin

noun

A fortified citadel or central stronghold found at the heart of many old Russian cities.

krill

noun

Tiny shrimp-like sea creatures that drift in huge swarms and form a key part of the ocean food chain.

kringle

noun

A ring- or pretzel-shaped sweet pastry, often filled with fruit, nuts, or almond paste, associated with Scandinavian and Danish-American baking.

kris

noun

A traditional dagger or short sword from Southeast Asia, often recognizable by its wavy, flame-like blade.

Krish

name

A male given name, often used as a diminutive of Krishna.

Krishna

name

A major deity in Hinduism, worshipped as an incarnation of the god Vishnu and central to texts like the Bhagavad Gita.

Krishnan

name

A surname of Tamil origin.

krissie

name

A diminutive of the female given name Kristina and of its variant forms.

krissy

name

A diminutive of the female given names Kristine/Christine or Kristina/Christina.

Krista

name

A female given name, a spelling variant of Christa, a short form of Christina.

Kristen

name

A female given name, a variant of Kristin derived from Christina.

Kristi

name

A female given name, a diminutive of Christina, variant of Christie.

kristie

name

A variant of Christie, a diminutive of Christina and related female names.

Kristin

name

A female given name derived from Christina, popular especially in American use.

Kristina

name

A female given name, a variant of Christina used across several Slavic and Scandinavian languages.

Kristine

name

A female given name, a variant of Christine.

kristopher

name

A male given name from Ancient Greek of modern usage, a rare spelling variant of Christopher.

Kristy

name

A female given name, a diminutive of Christina, variant of Christie.

Kroger

name

A surname, also the name of a major American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger.

Kroll

name

A surname of German or Dutch origin, sometimes from a nickname meaning "curly-haired."

Kroner

name

A surname.

Kronk

name

A surname.

Krueger

name

A surname of South German and Jewish origin, from a word meaning "innkeeper" or "potter."

Krug

name

A surname of German origin, from a word meaning "jug" or "tavern."

Kruger

name

A surname of German and Afrikaans origin, a variant of Krueger.

Krupa

name

A surname found in Polish, Czech, and other Slavic languages.

Krupp

name

A surname of German origin, historically associated with the Krupp industrial family and steel company.

Kruse

name

A surname of German origin.

krypton

noun

A colorless, odorless noble gas (chemical symbol Kr, atomic number 36) present in only trace amounts in Earth's atmosphere.

kryptonate

verb

To infuse a solid with krypton gas (especially with radioactive krypton-85).

kryptonite

noun

Figuratively, the one specific thing that can weaken or defeat someone or something otherwise very strong.

Krystal

name

A female given name, a respelling of Crystal.

Krystle

name

A female given name, a variant spelling of Crystal.

ktv

noun

Karaoke television, a form of interactive musical entertainment.

Ku

name

A surname of Korean origin.

kuai

noun

A historical Chinese dish consisting of finely cut strips of raw fish or meat.

Kuan

name

A surname of Chinese origin.

kubernetes

name

An open-source orchestrator system of containerized applications, originally designed by Google.

Kubo

name

A language spoken in Papua New Guinea.

Kubrick

name

A surname of Polish origin, from a word for a ship's forecastle.

kudo

noun

A single piece of praise or recognition (a back-formed singular of "kudos").

kudos

noun

Praise, credit, or recognition for something a person has achieved.

kudu

noun

A large, striped, African antelope of the species Tragelaphus imberbis (lesser kudu) or Tragelaphus strepsiceros (greater kudu).

Kui

name

A Dravidian language spoken by the Khond people of eastern India.

Kuk

name

A river in Alaska, whose name derives from an Inuit word for "river."

Kuki

noun

A member of any of several related hill-dwelling ethnic communities living across parts of northeastern India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.

kuku

noun

An Iranian baked egg dish, thick with herbs or vegetables, somewhere between an omelette and a quiche.

Kumar

name

A male given name and surname of Sanskrit origin, common throughout South Asia.

kumbaya

noun

Invoked, often sarcastically, to describe a moment of forced or naive group togetherness and harmony.

Kumiko

name

A female given name of Japanese origin.

kumkum

noun

A red powder, made from saffron or turmeric, used ceremonially by Hindu women to make various markings on the body, especially the tilak.

kun

noun

In Japanese, the way of reading a kanji character according to its native Japanese meaning, rather than its borrowed Chinese-derived sound.

Kunal

name

A male given name of Sanskrit origin, used in India, from the name of a prince of the Mauryan Empire.

Kuni

name

A unisex given name and surname of Japanese origin.

Kuo

name

A surname of Chinese origin, from Mandarin Guō.

kuon

name

A surname from Chinese, a variant of Kwon.

kurd

noun

A member of the linguistically and culturally distinct people who speak Kurdish and mainly inhabit those parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria sometimes known as Kurdistan.

Kurdish

adj

Relating to Kurdistan, the Kurdish people, or their language.

Kurdistan

name

The broad cultural and geographic region of West Asia where the Kurdish people are the majority, spanning parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria.

Kure

name

A port city in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

Kuroda

name

A surname of Japanese origin.

Kurokawa

name

A surname of Japanese origin, meaning "black river."

Kuroki

name

A surname of Japanese origin, also the name of a hamlet in Saskatchewan, Canada named after a general.

Kurosawa

name

A surname of Japanese origin, meaning "black marsh."

Kursk

name

A city in western Russia, site of the largest tank battle in history in 1943.

Kurt

name

A male given name of Germanic origin, a contracted form of Konrad.

kurtis

name

A male given name, variant of Curtis.

Kurtz

name

A surname of German origin.

kuru

noun

A chronic, progressive, fatal central nervous system disease found mainly among the Fore and neighboring peoples of New Guinea, caused by a prion that probably resembles the scrapie agent of sheep, transmissible to nonhuman primates, and believed to be transmitted by ritual cannibalism.

kush

noun

A potent strain of marijuana, especially Cannabis indica, originally associated with the Hindu Kush mountain region.

kusum

noun

A tree (Schleichera oleosa) whose seeds are pressed for a multi-purpose oil used in cooking, cosmetics, and lamp fuel.

kuya

noun

In Filipino usage, an older brother, or a respectful term used to address or refer to an older male, whether or not he's actually a relative.

kvetch

verb

To whine or complain, often needlessly and incessantly.

Kwak

name

A surname of Korean or Polish origin.

kwan

noun

A school, hall, or federation associated with a particular style of Korean martial arts.

Kwang

name

An East Chadic language spoken in Chad.

kwangchow

name

Dated spelling of Guangzhou.

Kwanzaa

name

A week-long African-American cultural celebration held from December 26 to January 1, honouring African heritage and community values.

Kwok

name

A surname of Cantonese origin.

Kwon

name

A surname of Korean or Chinese origin.

Kwong

name

A surname of Cantonese origin.

Ky

name

A short form of the female given names Kylie, Kylee, or Kyleigh.

kyd

symbol

One thousand yards, a unit of measurement.

Kyla

name

A modern female given name, often understood as a feminine form of Kyle.

Kyle

noun

A narrow stretch of sea between an island and the mainland, or between two islands — a term used mainly in Scotland.

Kylie

name

A female given name, popularised internationally by the singer Kylie Minogue.

kylix

noun

An Ancient Greek drinking cup with a stem, two handles, and a broad, shallow body.

kym

name

A unisex given name, variant of Kim.

Kyoko

name

A female given name of Japanese origin.

Kyoto

name

The former imperial capital of Japan, now a major city on Honshu famous for its temples, gardens, and traditional culture.

kyphosis

noun

The normal convex curvature of the spine in the thoracic and sacral regions.

Kyra

name

A female given name, from Byzantine Greek kurá ("lady") or as a variant of Keira.

kyrsten

name

A female given name, variant of Kirsten.

kyu

noun

A rank or grade below black belt in Japanese martial arts and similar disciplines, also used in the game of go.

Kyushu

name

The third-largest and southwesternmost of Japan's four main islands.