luau

[ loo-ou, loo-ou ]

/ luˈaʊ, ˈlu aʊ /

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noun

a feast of Hawaiian food, usually held outdoors and usually accompanied by Hawaiian entertainment.

a cooked dish of taro leaves, usually prepared with coconut cream and octopus or chicken.

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Origin of luau

First recorded in 1835–45, luau is from the Hawaiian word lū'au

Words nearby luau

Luang Prabang, Luangwa, Luanne, Luanshya, Luapula, luau, lub, Luba, Lubang Islands, Lubavitcher, lubber

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use luau in a sentence

Journalists got their revenge a month later by sending Gibbs into a dunk tank at a White House luau.
Robert Gibbs Leaving White House: Watch Video of His Best Moments|Shannon Donnelly|January 5, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Around midnight, she and her husband Lennie Hayton dropped by the Luau, a faux-Polynesian restaurant in Beverly Hills.
Lena Horne's Stormy Past|James Gavin|May 10, 2010|DAILY BEAST
But the Luau incident gave her a sobering look at the truth.
Lena Horne's Stormy Past|James Gavin|May 10, 2010|DAILY BEAST
While police led him to the door, Hayton rushed Horne out of the Luau, then home to the Ambassador.
Lena Horne's Stormy Past|James Gavin|May 10, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Here it takes a tropical twist, with chunks of sweet pineapple, so it's right at home at a luau.
What to Eat|Cookstr.com|July 28, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Hospitable and liberal as he is in his daily life, when the Hawaiian invites his friends to a luau he expects them to pay.
Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands|Charles Nordhoff
"Luau is the Hawaiian name for feast," Mrs. Beaumont explained.
The Four Corners in Japan|Amy Ella Blanchard
It will be a twenty-five cent, or a fifty cent, or a dollar luau.
Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands|Charles Nordhoff
The Tahitian "native" feast does not differ in any salient particulars from the often-described Hawaiian luau.
In the Track of the Trades|Lewis R. Freeman
The pupil ate the luau, the teacher placed the package of salt on the altar, and the service was complete.
Unwritten Literature of Hawaii|Nathaniel Bright Emerson

British Dictionary definitions for luau

luau

/ (luːˈaʊ, ˈluːaʊ) /

noun

a feast of Hawaiian food

a dish of taro leaves usually prepared with coconut cream and octopus or chicken

Word Origin for luau

from Hawaiian lu'au

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012