| karaoke |
a form of musical entertainment originating in Japan in which prerecorded instrumental music from popular songs is played while a person performs live vocals through a microphone. |
| karat |
a unit of measure for the purity of gold equal to one twenty-fourth part of pure gold. |
| karate |
a method of weaponless self-defense, based on strategically placed hard blows with the elbows or the edges of hands or feet. |
| Karl Marx |
a German political philosopher and economist who founded modern socialism (b.1818--d.1883). |
| karma |
in Hinduism and Buddhism, the principle that one's actions determine one's future in this life or in other incarnations. [3 definitions] |
| karst |
an area where limestone predominates, characterized by ravines, sinks, and caverns caused by underground streams. |
| kart |
a small, lightweight, gas-powered, four-wheeled vehicle used for racing or recreation; go-cart. |
| Kasbah |
see "Casbah." |
| kasha |
cracked and hulled grain, esp. buckwheat, cooked into a mush and served with meat or in soup. |
| Kashmir |
a southwestern Asian region between Afghanistan and Tibet, the object of conflicting territorial claims by India and Pakistan; Jammu and Kashmir. |
| Kashmiri |
a native of Kashmir, or a descendant thereof; Kashmirian. [2 definitions] |
| kashruth |
(Hebrew) the dietary laws for Jews. (See kosher.) |
| Katmandu |
the capital of Nepal. |
| katydid |
any of a variety of large grasshoppers, the males of which produce a characteristic song by rubbing the wings together. |
| katzenjammer |
depressing confusion. [2 definitions] |
| kauri |
a tall evergreen tree, found in New Zealand, that produces a resin used in varnishes and enamels. [2 definitions] |
| kayak |
a slender boat traditionally used by the Inuit people, consisting of a light frame pointed at both ends, covered with a waterproof skin that may be pulled tight around the waist of the passenger. [2 definitions] |
| Kazakh |
of or pertaining to Kazakhstan or its people, culture, language, or the like. [3 definitions] |
| Kazakhstan |
a Central Asian country south of Russia; formerly a republic of the Soviet Union. |
| kazoo |
a musical toy consisting of a small tube, one side of which has a hole covered with paper that vibrates when a player sings or hums into the tube, producing a buzzing tone. |
| kc |
abbreviation of "kilocycle," or "kilocycles," a unit of frequency equal to one thousand cycles per second or one thousand hertz; kilohertz. |