nene

[ ney-ney ]

/ ˈneɪ neɪ /

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noun, plural ne·ne.

a barred, gray-brown wild goose, Nesochen sandvicensis, native to Hawaii, where it is the state bird.

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Also called Hawaiian goose.

Origin of nene

First recorded in 1900–05, nene is from the Hawaiian word nēnē

Words nearby nene

nemophila, nemoricole, Nemrod, Nemunas, Nen, nene, Nenets, N. Eng., Nenni, NEO, neoadjuvant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nene in a sentence

She drew “Judge No. 3” to answer a question from NeNe Leakes, star of the Bravo reality series The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Miss Utah Marissa Powell’s Face-Palm Moment During the Miss USA Pageant|Marlow Stern|June 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Just how did Runway end up on Thursdays, anyway, pushing against Bravo's bulwark of NeNe and pals?
Runway vs. Housewives|Choire Sicha|August 19, 2009|DAILY BEAST
An example of NeNe Leakes, from an episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta, keeping things extremely real.
The Housewife Who Keeps It Real|Rebecca Dana|August 10, 2009|DAILY BEAST
It lies in the midst of the flat fen country, on the old course of the river Nene.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 6|Various

The announcement of the death of Marchesa Nene had reached her that very evening by the last post.
The Saint|Antonio Fogazzaro
He also carried out considerable works in relation to the Nene Valley drainage and the reclamation of land at the Norfolk estuary.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6|Various
Another, with Osbiorn at their head, having joined them off the mouth of the Humber, sailed (it seems) up the Nene.
Hereward, The Last of the English|Charles Kingsley
The Nene still has its outfall here, and flows through the town in a fine sweep locally called the Brink.
Highways and Byways in Cambridge and Ely|Rev. Edward Conybeare.

British Dictionary definitions for nene

nene

/ (ˈneɪˌneɪ) /

noun

a rare black-and-grey short-winged Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, having partly webbed feet

Word Origin for nene

from Hawaiian

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