kamikaze

[ kah-mi-kah-zee ]

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, especially 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

1. of, pertaining to, undertaken by, or characteristic of a kamikaze:

   a kamikaze pilot; a kamikaze attack.

kamikaze

/ ˌkæmɪˈkɑːzɪ /

noun

1. (in World War II) one of a group of Japanese pilots who performed suicidal missions by crashing their aircraft, loaded with explosives, into an enemy target, esp a ship
2. an aircraft used for such a mission
3. modifier (of an action) undertaken or (of a person) undertaking an action in the knowledge that it will result in the death of the person performing it in order that maximum damage may be inflicted on an enemy

   a kamikaze bomber

   a kamikaze attack

4. modifier extremely foolhardy and possibly self-defeating

   kamikaze pricing

kamikaze

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of kamikaze¹

1940–45; < Japanese, equivalent to kami ( y ) god (earlier *kamui ) + kaze wind (earlier *kanzai

Word History and Origins

Origin of kamikaze¹

C20: from Japanese, from kami divine + kaze wind, referring to the winds that, according to Japanese tradition, destroyed a Mongol invasion fleet in 1281