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
Iloko o kona la e hele ana ma kona ano Makaula, ia ia hoi i hiki aku ai i Wailua.
From The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai by Beckwith, Martha Warren
Ia manawa, haalele e Poliahu i kona kapa hau, lalau like ae la ka poe noho mauna i ko lakua kapa la, hoi aku la ka hau a kona wahi mau.
From The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai by Beckwith, Martha Warren
No ke aloha wale no o ka Makaula ke kumu o kona hele ana aku e hai i kana mea i ike ai.
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 island is the grip of a "Kona Low", a slow-moving area of low pressure that pulls in warm, moisture-rich air across the Hawaiian islands, bringing heavy rain and flash flooding.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026
Kona Hills aimed to plant about 1,000 acres, appraisal documents show.
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
My four cousins—Allie and the three girls, Matilda, Kona, and Sombo—took turns hugging me, their faces bright with smiles.
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.
