"K" Slang

knuckle-dragger

General

A snowboarder who carves so hard they can trail a hand along the snow, or, used by skiers, a light-hearted nickname for snowboarders in general. Context decides whether it is praise or a jibe.

knuckleball

General

A strike hit to impart minimal rotation, causing the ball to wobble and dip erratically in flight.

knuckledragger

General

Affectionately insulting slang for orthopaedic surgeons, playing on a stereotype of strength-heavy, cerebrally-light practice.

knurl chalk grip

General

A grouping of grip-related gym terms: the 'knurl' is the crosshatched, textured pattern cut into a barbell to improve grip; 'chalk' is the magnesium carbonate lifters coat their hands with to reduce sweat and slipping; and 'grip' is how you hold the bar. Together they describe what keeps a loaded barbell from slipping.

knurling

General

The textured, crosshatched grip pattern machined into a barbell to provide traction for the hands.

kodomo

Internet

A demographic category of works created for small children, with simple, wholesome, educational or comedic stories. Doraemon is a classic example.

kohai

Internet

A person junior to you in age, grade or experience within an institution. The kohai is expected to show deference to their senpai, who in turn mentors them.

kohai-senpai dynamic

Internet

The hierarchical mentor relationship between a junior (kohai) and senior (senpai), a recurring social framework and romance setup in school and workplace anime.

kojak with a kodak

General

An officer running a radar gun. 'Kojak' from the bald-headed TV detective (the cop part), 'Kodak' because pointing the gun looks like taking a picture. One of the most beloved bits of CB poetry.

kokoro

Internet

A word for the heart in the emotional/spiritual sense — the seat of one's feelings, mind and spirit. Beloved in fandom for describing gut-punching emotional moments ('this hit me in the kokoro').

kokoro pyon pyon

Internet

A fan catchphrase describing one's heart bouncing with joy at extreme cuteness.

kokuhaku

Internet

The dramatic moment of confessing one's romantic feelings to another person — a pivotal beat in romance anime and manga, often the emotional climax of an arc.

kokuhaku-scene

Internet

The set-piece scene built around a character confessing their romantic feelings, typically the emotional high point of a romance arc.

kolo

Street

Used to question someone's sanity or describe reckless, irrational behaviour — interchangeable in some contexts with 'ment' or 'mad.'

kook

General

A novice or inexperienced skater who lacks skill, style, or awareness of skate etiquette; less about faking (like a poser) and more about being oblivious or bad.

kool

General

As an imperative or interjection, 'kool!' meaning 'watch it' or 'look lively' — a quick verbal nudge between traders.

kop

General

To catch or get, as in 'kop hold of this' or 'kop for it' (get in trouble). Northern usage.

koreaboo

Internet

A person, usually non-Korean, who fetishizes or excessively imitates Korean culture in a way others find cringeworthy or disrespectful. Generally used as an insult.

korean backdash

Gaming

You cancel each backdash's recovery by tapping down-back, letting you repeat the input rapidly. The result is fast, slippery backward movement that bait whiffs all day.

kosher

Street

Legitimate, proper or trustworthy — the opposite of dodgy.

kouhai

Internet

A junior colleague, younger student or less experienced member, expected to defer to their senpai. A common variant spelling reflecting the long vowel.

kp

General

Kitchen Patrol or Kitchen Police, the chore of assisting in the mess hall with cooking and cleaning.

kpaa

Street

Used when someone acts oblivious or claims to have forgotten something they clearly remember, usually to dodge a request or responsibility.

kpi

General

A quantifiable measure used to track progress toward a goal.

kpọkọm

Street

A straightforward trader's slang word for money, recorded in the Otu-Onitsha (Onitsha market) speech community.

krewe

Street

A New Orleans Carnival organisation. Krewes design floats, throw beads, host masked balls and crown royalty — Rex, Zulu, Bacchus, Muses, the lot. Membership runs from old-money invite-only to anyone-with-fifty-bucks.

kreygasm

Gaming

A global Twitch emote spammed to show elation, pleasure, or that something looks amazing.

krovvy

General

Often used to describe the aftermath of the gang's violence in vivid, almost gleeful terms.

kudasai

Internet

The Japanese word for 'please' when asking for something, familiar to fans from countless requests in anime dialogue.

kumara

General

The sweet potato, a staple vegetable historically cultivated by Māori and a fixture of the Kiwi table.

kun

Internet

A name-suffix of familiarity typically used for boys, young men or juniors, and sometimes by seniors addressing subordinates of either gender.

kunumunu

General

A gullible fool or simpleton; someone easily deceived or made to look stupid.

kusa

Internet

Online slang expressing laughter, equivalent to 'lol' or 'lmao'. It grew from writing 'w' (for warau, to laugh) which stacked up to look like blades of grass.

kush

Street

Refers to cannabis strains from the Hindu Kush region, and broadly to high-quality cannabis.

kuudere

Internet

An anime character archetype who stays cool, composed, and seemingly emotionless, but harbors genuine warmth they rarely show. Unlike a tsundere, they don't lash out — they just shut down.

kuykendahl

Street

A North Houston road that doubles as a pronunciation shibboleth. Say it the way it's spelled and every native within earshot clocks you as not from here. The accepted local pronunciation is 'Kirk-en-doll', and getting it right is a small badge of belonging.

kvi

General

A KVI (Known Value Item) is the small set of products customers know the price of off the top of their head — milk, eggs, bananas, Coke, bread. Retailers price these aggressively, even at a loss, because shoppers use them as a yardstick for whether the whole store is 'cheap' or 'expensive'. Mess up the KVI price and the perception of every other tag in the building takes a hit.

kvo

General

Setting an IV to infuse very slowly so the vein and catheter stay patent without giving significant fluid volume.

kwanta

Street

A general word for trouble or problem-making, used across the Otu-Onitsha market community.

kwechiri

Street

Its core, dictionary-verified meaning is 'to insist' or 'persist' — someone who kwechiri's refuses to budge from their position. A separate, newer usage has spread on TikTok/Instagram/WhatsApp where 'Kwechiri' (often paired with an exaggerated hand gesture) is used in memes to express sudden astonishment or disbelief; that meme usage is a much more recent, less formally documented pop-culture twist on the original word and should be read with that in mind.

kweff

General

To stab. One of the MLE/drill-scene words for knifing someone, alongside 'cheff', 'wap' and 'splash'. Heavily associated with UK drill lyrics from the late 2010s onwards.

kweng

Street

To slash or stab — onomatopoeic, mimicking the slice of a blade through the air. Popularised in London drill, especially north London and south London scenes, often shouted as an ad-lib in bars about violence.

kya

Internet

An onomatopoeic squeal, typically from girls, expressing excitement, delight or startled surprise — the anime equivalent of 'eek!' or a fangirl shriek.

kyah

Internet

An acronym urging people to acknowledge that digital and generative art existed long before NFTs, pushing back on crypto-native amnesia.

kyc

Internet

Know Your Customer refers to the identity-verification process exchanges and services require to comply with regulations. 'KYC'd' means having completed it; some prize 'no-KYC' venues for privacy.