a district along the west coast of the Island of Hawaii in southeastern Hawaii, divided administratively into North Kona and South Kona districts.
Official Name Kailua-Kona. a town in North Kona district, and the largest town in the district of Kona: the first capital, 1795–1820, of the unified Kingdom of Hawaii.
Borrowed into English from Hawaiian around 1860–65
From Hawaiian kona “leeward or dry side” (of the island)
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for the entire state through Thursday as a kona low, or subtropical cyclone, west of the island chain generated moist and humid conditions.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
Previous studies indicate kona lows may happen less frequently as a result of climate change.
From Scientific American ● Dec. 7, 2021
A ike aku la o Hauailiki i ka peahi ana mai, alaila, ua hoomohalaia kona naau kanalua.
From The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai by Beckwith, Martha Warren
Ia manawa, lawe ae la o Poliahu i kona kapa la, a aahu iho la, ia manawa ka hookuu ana'ku o Poliahu i ka wela maluna o Hinaikamalama.
From The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai by Beckwith, Martha Warren
A hiki i ka manawa a ka makuakane i olelo ai, ala ae la ke kaikamahine i kakahiaka nui poeleele, a hele aku la e like me ke kauoha a kona makuakane.
From The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai by Beckwith, Martha Warren
I note, “Kids listen when they are given trust and agency,” before taking off for Kona.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
The coffee farm, known as Kona Hills, got started in 2016 also.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026
Neither carmaker breaks out sales by power source for vehicles that can be either electric or gas-powered, such as the Hyundai Kona, so it’s unclear how many of those EVs were sold.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2025
Shriver was in Kona, Hawaii, with her sons when the fires broke out, on her way to cover the Australian Open.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2025
There were four of them—Allie, the oldest one; Matilda; Kona; and Sombo, the littlest, who was six years old.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
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.
