koa
Americannoun
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a Hawaiian acacia, Acacia koa, of the legume family, characterized by spreading branches and gray bark.
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the hard, red or golden-brown wood of this tree, used for making furniture.
noun
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a Hawaiian leguminous tree, Acacia koa, yielding a hard wood
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the reddish wood of this tree, used esp for furniture
Etymology
Origin of koa
Borrowed into English from Hawaiian around 1840–50
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.
The flames haven’t threatened homes or property, and no evacuations have been ordered, but they have scorched some native koa and ohia trees.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 2, 2023
Bentley has increasingly focused on customization, from hand-stitched leather to finishes ranging from walnut to koa, or even 5,000-year-old wood fished out of England's fens.
From Reuters • Dec. 7, 2022
The sprawling lobby also houses the Kai Opua Canoe Club’s 40-foot canoe made from a koa tree, which is endemic to Hawaii.
From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2022
“Not officially. But there’s a lot of empty land. You know, those abandoned pineapple fields? Thousands of acres. Yeah, so I’m working with a few others to plant trees. Native species like koa, and ‘ōhi‘a.”
From Slate • Nov. 27, 2021
“Well, I wouldn’t have been able to get this far with that map. Everything looks different. I wonder how big those koa saplings we planted are by now.”
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
