Kerala

American

[key-ruh-luh, ker-uh-] / ˈkeɪ rə lə, ˈkɛr ə- /

noun

a state in SW India: formerly the regions of Travancore and Cochin. 15,005 sq. mi. (38,836 sq. km). Thiruvananthapuram.

Kerala British

/ kəˈrɑːlə, ˈkɛrələ /

noun

a state of SW India, on the Arabian Sea: formed in 1956, it includes the former state of Travancore-Cochin; has the highest population density of any Indian state. Capital: Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram). Pop: 31 838 619 (2001). Area: 38 863 sq km (15 005 sq miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

At their peak, India's communist parties ruled states stretching from West Bengal to Kerala and Tripura.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

Meanwhile, an opposition alliance helmed by the once-dominant Congress Party is more fractured than ever, though its alliance in Kerala did win in the small southern state, which also voted in April.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

Indian Communists lost Kerala, their last remaining stronghold, to the center-left Congress Party.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

For Cheradeep Ma venturing out at night to pollinate dragon fruit plants at his farm in Wayanad, in the southern state of Kerala, could be deadly.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

In 1876, when Baby Kochamma’s father was seven years old, his father had taken him to see the Patriarch, who was visiting the Syrian Christians of Kerala.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023