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• tonga
  tonga

  noun

  a light, two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle used in India.
• Tonga
  Tonga

  noun

  a Polynesian kingdom consisting of three groups of islands in the S Pacific, NE of New Zealand: a former British protectorate. About 270 sq. mi. (700 sq. km). Nukualofa.

tonga

¹ American  

[tong-guh] / ˈtɒŋ gə /

noun

1. a light, two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle used in India.

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Tonga ² American  

[tong-guh] / ˈtɒŋ gə /

noun

1. a Polynesian kingdom consisting of three groups of islands in the S Pacific, NE of New Zealand: a former British protectorate. About 270 sq. mi. (700 sq. km). Nukualofa.

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Tonga ¹ British  

/ ˈtɒŋə, ˈtɒŋɡə /

noun

1. a member of a Negroid people of S central Africa, living chiefly in Zambia and Zimbabwe

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family

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Tonga ² British  

/ ˈtɒŋə, ˈtɒŋɡə /

noun

1. Also called: Friendly Islands. a kingdom occupying an archipelago of more than 150 volcanic and coral islands in the SW Pacific, east of Fiji: inhabited by Polynesians; became a British protectorate in 1900 and gained independence in 1970; a member of the Commonwealth. Official languages: Tongan and English. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: pa'anga. Capital: Nuku'alofa. Pop: 106 322 (2013 est). Area: 750 sq km (290 sq miles)

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tonga ³ British  

/ ˈtɒŋɡə /

noun

1. a light two-wheeled vehicle used in rural areas of India

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Etymology

Origin of tonga

First recorded in 1870–75, tonga is from the Hindi word tāṅgā

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tonga Tonga

I suppose their might be a risk of some of the potential GB players competing for their home countries - tonga, samoa, south africa, new zealand, holland etc. but i'm sure it'll be good.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 7, 2012

"Na, na, damchee, na, na, damchee! " wailed the tongawalla to a British officer, who was trying to rent his two-wheeled tonga at an air base in India.

From Time Magazine Archive

Halfway down the tonga stopped, and their eyes picked up, off to the right, a ravishing sight.

From The Three Sapphires by W. A. Fraser

Then said the driver: "Had there been no tonga behind us, I should have put the mails on a horse, because the Sirkar's mail cannot stop."

From From Sea to Sea Letters of Travel by Rudyard Kipling

The guests were soon waiting in the courtyard for the tonga.

From The Three Sapphires by W. A. Fraser

The team believes the discovery could encourage engineers to investigate whether the natural chemistry observed after Hunga Tonga can be reproduced safely and effectively.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026

In its nomination, Tonga highlighted A-Baki's roles as a cabinet minister, the first women ambassador from Ecuador to Washington and ambassador to Qatar.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

Tonga Nolan grew up in a predominantly Black neighborhood on the north side of Baton Rouge and remembers it fondly as a tight-knit community.

From Salon ● May 10, 2026

England's World Cup campaign in Australia begins against Tonga in Perth on 17 October, with games against France and Papua New Guinea to follow.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

These developments were especially apparent on Tonga, Samoa, and the Societies, all of which were fertile, densely populated, and moderately large by Polynesian standards.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond