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moai

British  
/ ˈməʊaɪ /

noun

  1. 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.

See Examples For:

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

From Science Daily Nov. 30, 2025

With just 18 people, the team was able to transport the moai 100 meters in just 40 minutes, a marked improvement over previous vertical transport attempts.

From Science Daily Oct. 8, 2025

The online campaign began after an influencer encouraged his followers to "spam" the museum's Instagram posts with "return the moai" comments.

From BBC Feb. 18, 2024

The museum has two moai statues which were taken from the Chilean territory of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, in 1868.

From BBC Feb. 18, 2024

The moai are carved stone statues with extremely large heads.

From NewsForKids.net Oct. 13, 2022

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