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

Wairimũ Mũkũrũ, a young Kikuyu cultural expert with a large social media following, says the rise of female surnames is largely down to the fact that single-mother families have become much more common.

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

When he was two days old he was set outside the house in his crib, and in accordance with Kikuyu custom, all the elders of the tribe walked past to give him their blessing.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall

Ruto owed his success in part to his support among the Kikuyus, Kenya’s largest tribe, initial results indicated.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 15, 2022

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

Although Mr Gachagua has been dogged by corruption allegations, he is a strong mobiliser and has the ear of struggling Kikuyus.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2022

Both men are also Kikuyus, Kenya’s biggest ethnic group but still a minority.

From Reuters ● Sep. 3, 2017

He lasted the distance, but had little camp-fire conversation even with his beloved Kikuyus.

From African Camp Fires by White, Stewart Edward