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.

See Examples For:

moai

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

From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2025

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

From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2025

Mr Milfort regularly speaks about the moai in his viral videos.

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

There are 386 moai in and around Rano Raraku.

From NewsForKids.net ● Oct. 13, 2022

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