kiwi
Americannoun
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any of several flightless, ratite birds of the genus Apteryx, of New Zealand, allied to the extinct moas.
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Also called Chinese gooseberry. the egg-sized, edible berry of the Chinese gooseberry, having fuzzy brownish skin and slightly tart green flesh.
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Slang.
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a member of an air service, as in World War I, who is confined to ground duty.
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a former pilot or member of a flight crew.
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Informal. a New Zealander.
noun
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any nocturnal flightless New Zealand bird of the genus Apteryx, having a long beak, stout legs, and weakly barbed feathers: order Apterygiformes See ratite
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short for kiwi fruit
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informal a New Zealander
Etymology
Origin of kiwi
Borrowed into English from Maori around 1825–35
Explanation
A kiwi is a sweet fruit that's originally from China but today is most often grown in New Zealand. See that little green fruit with tiny edible seeds in your fruit salad? It's kiwi! New Zealanders use the word kiwi for a chicken-sized, flightless bird, or sometimes as a nickname for a person from New Zealand. The small, fuzzy-skinned fruit that North Americans call kiwi is known as either kiwifruit or Chinese gooseberry in New Zealand. The word kiwi first referred to the bird, and it comes from Maori.
Vocabulary lists containing kiwi
Amazing Animals, List 1
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Australia and New Zealand - Introductory
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Australia and New Zealand - Middle School and 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.
Key exports from India include basmati rice, sugar, fresh fruits and pharmaceuticals, while major imports include pistachios, apples, kiwi and dates.
From Barron's • Jan. 13, 2026
Benedict had asthma and a number of allergies to food including eggs, nuts, kiwi fruit and milk.
From BBC • Oct. 22, 2025
Before humans, flightless birds like the kākāpō and kiwi thrived.
From Slate • Aug. 8, 2025
As it faces habitat loss and fragmentation of its remaining habitat as well as the ravages of invasive species like domestic dogs, unmanaged kiwi populations are continuing to decline by 2% every year.
From Salon • May 15, 2025
The sadness falls off my mother a little bit each day, like peeling the ugly brown fuzz off a kiwi fruit and finding the sweet green goodness inside.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
