Kiowa
Americannoun
-
a member of an Indigenous Great Plains tribe, now living primarily in Oklahoma.
-
the language of the Kiowa, closely related to Tanoan.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Kiowa
First recorded in 1800–10; from Kiowa kɔjgwu “principal people”
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.
A priest, noticing Pratt’s skillful doodling, bought him art supplies and showed him a collection of work by the Kiowa Five, a renowned group of early 20th-century painters who’d attended the school.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026
M. Scott Momaday, in his essay “The Way to Rainy Mountain,” describes his Kiowa grandmother, who “bore an image of deicide.”
From Salon • Sep. 1, 2024
“The stage itself has expanded,” said Adam Piron, a Kiowa and Mohawk filmmaker and the director of the Sundance Institute Indigenous Program.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 5, 2024
Hokeah’s characters exist at the intersection of Kiowa, Cherokee and Mexican identity, which provides a vital exploration of indigeneity in contemporary American letters.
From New York Times • Aug. 16, 2022
The mud seemed to flow back faster than they could dig, but Kiowa was their friend and they kept at it anyway.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
![]()
Definitions 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.