noun
kiwi
KEE-wee
noun
1
A flightless New Zealand bird with a long beak and hair-like feathers.
"The kiwi is nocturnal and rarely seen in the wild."
2
Informal term for a person from New Zealand.
"A group of Kiwis backpacked across South America together."
3
Short for kiwifruit, a fuzzy-skinned green fruit.
"She sliced a kiwi into the fruit salad."
How to Use Kiwi
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe flightless bird native to New Zealand, an informal word for a New Zealander, or the fruit.
Easily confused with
kiwifruit
Word Forms
more Kiwi comparative, kiwied past tense, Kiwis plural, kiwis singular, most Kiwi superlative
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The _____ is nocturnal and rarely seen in the wild.
Etymology
From the Māori name for the bird, imitating its call. "Kiwi" later became a nickname for New Zealanders themselves, and separately lent its name to the green fruit because of a supposed resemblance to the bird's fuzzy body.