kibbutz
Americannoun
-
kibbutzim
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of kibbutz
1930–35; < Modern Hebrew kibuṣ; compare Hebrew qibbūṣ gathering
Explanation
A kibbutz is a cooperative Israeli farming community. Kibbutzim provide about forty percent of Israel's agricultural output. The first kibbutz was formed in 1909, and back then farming was even more important than it is in today's kibbutzim (yes, this is the plural form of kibbutz). The original philosophy of kibbutzim was somewhat utopian, a belief in the creation of a perfect, equal society, and based in socialist ideals of shared ownership and a communal lifestyle. The word comes from the Modern Hebrew qibbus, "a gathering."
Vocabulary lists containing kibbutz
The Middle East and Central Asia - Introductory
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The Middle East and Central Asia - Middle School
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The Middle East and Central Asia - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
They include Gadi Moses, another kibbutz co-founder, and the oldest living male hostage released during the Gaza war, and Yair Horn, who stops to chat with the Aharons as he passes in a golf buggy.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
At the Kfar Aza kibbutz, which was also devastated by the attack, mourners sat in silence in assembled chairs as they watched the raising of an Israeli flag.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
She says that it is a difficult balance to redesign the kibbutz so that it feels like home but does not cause new trauma to those who return.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
But visitors from outside the kibbutz would be shocked to see a burned-out house—and would learn from it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
In the distance ahead, we see the gate to the kibbutz.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
A heated debate divides the kibbutzim that Hamas devastated three years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Before the war, kibbutzim residents tried to help Gazans, hiring them for jobs or and taking them for medical treatments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
Scores of Jews from around the world are visiting Israel to tour the grounds of the Nova music festival and burned out kibbutzim, bearing witness and reflecting on the Oct.
From Slate ● Sep. 19, 2024
Shortly afterwards, the kibbutzim of Nir Oz and Nir Yitzhak announced in separate statements that they had been informed of the recovery of Ms Goren and Sgt Goldin's bodies.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2024
All the time, in fact, in the meetings, special concerts, gatherings with other kibbutzim.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
