koa
Americannoun
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a Hawaiian acacia, Acacia koa, of the legume family, characterized by spreading branches and gray bark.
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the hard, red or golden-brown wood of this tree, used for making furniture.
noun
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a Hawaiian leguminous tree, Acacia koa, yielding a hard wood
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the reddish wood of this tree, used esp for furniture
Etymology
Origin of koa
Borrowed into English from Hawaiian around 1840–50
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.
Bentley has increasingly focused on customization, from hand-stitched leather to finishes ranging from walnut to koa, or even 5,000-year-old wood fished out of England's fens.
From Reuters • Dec. 7, 2022
The sprawling lobby also houses the Kai Opua Canoe Club’s 40-foot canoe made from a koa tree, which is endemic to Hawaii.
From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2022
“Not officially. But there’s a lot of empty land. You know, those abandoned pineapple fields? Thousands of acres. Yeah, so I’m working with a few others to plant trees. Native species like koa, and ‘ōhi‘a.”
From Slate • Nov. 27, 2021
The rare Hawaiian koa wood-cased Apple-1 - still functioning - is one of only 200 made and sold in kit form.
From BBC • Nov. 9, 2021
I imagine sandalwood and koa trees blanketing the slope.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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.
