Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Nearby Words

kamikaze

 - 4 dictionary results

ka⋅mi⋅ka⋅ze

  [kah-mi-kah-zee]
Use kamikaze in a Sentence
–noun
1. (during World War II) a member of a special corps in the Japanese air force charged with the suicidal mission of crashing an aircraft laden with explosives into an enemy target, esp. a warship.
2. an airplane used for this purpose.
3. a person or thing that behaves in a wildly reckless or destructive manner: We were nearly run down by a kamikaze on a motorcycle.
–adjective
4. of, pertaining to, undertaken by, or characteristic of a kamikaze: a kamikaze pilot; a kamikaze attack.
Origin:
1940–45; < Japn, equiv. to kami(y) god (earlier *kamui) + kaze wind (earlier *kanzai
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To kamikaze
ka·mi·ka·ze   (kä'mĭ-kä'zē)   
n.  

  1. A Japanese pilot trained in World War II to make a suicidal crash attack, especially upon a ship.

  2. An airplane loaded with explosives to be piloted in a suicide attack.

  3. Slang An extremely reckless person who seems to court death.

adj.  

  1. Of or relating to a suicidal air attack: a kamikaze mission.

  2. Slang So reckless in behavior or actions as to be suicidal: kamikaze hot rodders.


[Japanese, divine wind (from the legendary name of a typhoon that in 1281 saved Japan by destroying the Mongol navy) : kami, divine + kaze, wind.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

kamikaze [(kah-muh-kah-zee)]

Japanese fighter pilots in World War II, trained to make suicide crashes into Allied ships.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

kamikaze 
"suicide corps," 1945, Japanese, lit. "divine wind," from kami "god, providence, divine" + kaze "wind." Originally the name given in folklore to a typhoon which saved Japan from Mongol invasion by wrecking Kublai Khan's fleet (August 1281).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see kamikaze on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way