moai

British

/ ˈməʊaɪ /

noun

any of the gigantic carved stone figures found on Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

"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

Etymology

Origin of moai

from Rapanui (the Polynesian language of Easter Island), literally: statue, figurine

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.

For this study, scientists gathered more than 11,000 photographs of Rano Raraku, the primary moai quarry.

From Science Daily

These images were merged into a detailed 3D reconstruction that captured hundreds of moai preserved in different stages of production.

From Science Daily

Additional clues indicate that completed or partially shaped moai were moved away from the quarry along several different paths.

From Science Daily

Similarities between moai appear to come from the sharing of cultural knowledge instead of coordinated, joint labor.

From Science Daily

This background has prompted researchers to explore whether the carving of moai followed the same decentralized structure.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023