karma

American  

[kahr-muh] / ˈkɑr mə /

noun

1. Hinduism, Buddhism. action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation: in Hinduism one of the means of reaching Brahman.

2. Theosophy. the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person's deeds in the previous incarnation.

3. fate; destiny.

   Synonyms:

   kismet, lot, predetermination, predestination

4. the good or bad emanations felt to be generated by someone or something.

   Lets get out of here. This place has bad karma.

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karma British  

/ ˈkɑːmə /

noun

1. Hinduism Buddhism the principle of retributive justice determining a person's state of life and the state of his reincarnations as the effect of his past deeds

2. theosophy the doctrine of inevitable consequence

3. destiny or fate

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Other Word Forms

• karmic adjective

Etymology

Origin of karma

First recorded in 1820–30; from Sanskrit kárman- “act, deed”

Explanation

The Hindu and Buddhist concept karma is what will happen to you in your next life based on what you do in this life. Performing kind acts in this life gives you good karma for your next life. To understand karma, it’s important to understand that in Hinduism and Buddhism, practitioners believe in reincarnation. Reincarnation is the idea that after you die, you are reborn into a new body and a new life. How good or bad that new life is depends on the karma you’ve accumulated in your previous lives. By this line of thinking, performing good acts in this life means that in your next life you might be born the princess of a tropical paradise.

Example Sentences

A high-school English teacher near Houston was fired after she wrote on Facebook that she thought karma played a role in Kirk’s death, according to the lawsuit.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026

Many Thai men also choose to temporarily ordain as monks to accumulate good karma.

From BBC • Jul. 16, 2025

“Good karma? I told people I used up a lot of good karma that day.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2025

Other henchmen could be thinking about their own karma and how they may not be as lucky as Teflon Don.

From Salon • Jul. 23, 2024

He was a Buddhist and believed in the laws of karma, so it made sense to him that he might pay for his war murders: everything comes back to you, nothing is accidental.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson