Kikuyu

American  

[ki-koo-yoo] / kɪˈku ju /

noun

• Kikuyus,
  plural
• Kikuyu
  plural

1. a member of an Indigenous people of Kenya having an agricultural economy and notable as being the originators of the Mau Mau.

2. the language of the Kikuyu, a Bantu language.

3. Also called kikuyu grass.  Usually kikuyu a grass, Pennisetum clandestinum, native to southern Africa, sometimes used in warm climates for lawns or as pasturage.

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Kikuyu British  

/ kɪˈkuːjuː /

noun

1. a member of a Negroid people of E Africa, living chiefly in Kenya on the high foothills around Mount Kenya

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Kikuyu
  plural
• Kikuyus
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Kikuyu Kikuyus

Mũgwe wa Njũhĩ, an official of the Kikuyu cultural group Kiama Kĩa Ma, agrees male relatives of single mothers may deny the use of their name to avoid inheritance disputes.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

"Hold On to Me" from Cyprus traces the efforts of an 11-year-old tracking down her estranged father, while documentary "Kikuyu Land" from Kenya examines how powerful outside forces use local corruption to dispossess a people.

From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026

He dropped his English name, James, and resolved to write only in the language of the Kikuyu people, his mother tongue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025

So, angry about corruption and police excesses, she says she joined friends protesting in Kikuyu, a lush town on the outskirts of the capital.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2025

He knew perhaps more than any white man about the Kikuyu, too, since his missionary father had allowed him to grow up almost as part of the tribe.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall

Instead of delivering votes for his chosen successor, Mr. Kenyatta suffered a humiliating rebuke from voters in his heartland, the Mount Kenya region, where ethnic Kikuyus rejected his allies across the board.

From New York Times ● Aug. 15, 2022

But if the latest opinion poll by research agency Tifa is to be believed, neither she nor Mr Kenyatta have persuaded the majority of Kikuyus to vote for Mr Odinga.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2022

Both selected running mates are Kikuyus, Kenya’s most populous ethnic group, as Odinga and Ruto - who hail from other communities - seek to attract Kikuyu votes.

From Reuters ● May 16, 2022

But tribalism remained a strong element in Kenyan politics, and he surrounded himself with a close-knit cadre of his fellow Kikuyus, whose traditional homeland was near Mount Kenya.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 22, 2022

Next morning, when we arose, we found one of the wagon Kikuyus awaiting us.

From African Camp Fires by Stewart Edward White