panga
Americannoun
noun
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a broad heavy knife of E Africa, used as a tool or weapon
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a small fishing boat first developed in Japan and now used chiefly in US and Central American waters
Etymology
Origin of panga
Borrowed into English from Swahili around 1930–35
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.
Four people died after a panga boat capsized off the San Diego County coast early Saturday morning, authorities said.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2025
My angling partner, Ken Matsumoto, stepped to the bow of the panga and peeled fly line from his reel.
From Washington Post • Apr. 1, 2022
Once, I saw my male English teacher wielding a panga, or African machete.
From Time • Aug. 31, 2016
When a false killer whale speeds toward Hirsh’s panga, stops inches short and sings, is it trying to communicate?
From Seattle Times • Aug. 30, 2013
She had a panga and Uncle Kufa’s broken knife.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
