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.
But Kiwi was the only capybara out in the regular exhibit that morning, and her family hadn’t made it to Simba Safari.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
But with a dose of Kiwi banter and the ability to laugh at themselves, the mistakes only made the show funnier and a reminder of why we’ve missed them.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
Liam Lawson - 7 - Bit anonymous really from the Kiwi.
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
The series was heading to the Circuit of the Americas—and a Kiwi named Shane van Gisbergen had won the prior five road races.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026
Over our first few days we would learn how to shine our shoes using Kiwi black shoe polish, a cotton rag, and a pretty disgusting amount of saliva.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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.
