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Comprehensive
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kangaroo any of a group of large plant-eating marsupials of Australia and Tanzania, having powerful hind legs for jumping and a long, heavy tail used for balance.
kangaroo court an unauthorized court, such as one set up by prison inmates or strikers, that often disregards or parodies normal legal procedures.
kangaroo rat any of various long-tailed and long-legged jumping rodents of desert regions in Mexico and the western United States, or a similar one of Australia.
kanji the part of the Japanese writing system that uses characters derived from Chinese ideographs. (Cf. kana.) [2 definitions]
Kansas a Midwestern U.S. state between Missouri and Colorado. (abbr.: KS)
kaolin a very fine white clay used to make porcelain and finishes for paper and textiles.
kaon in physics, a meson that is positive, negative, or neutral and that is the product of a high-energy collision; K meson.
kaph the name of the eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
kapok the silky, fibrous down in the seeds of various tropical trees, used for insulation and padding.
Kaposi's sarcoma a cancer of connective tissue that is marked by painless external lesions and sometimes affects internal organs, occurring in esp. serious form among people with AIDS.
kappa1 the name of the tenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
kappa2 in Japanese mythology, a monkey-sized river imp having fish scales, a turtle's shell, a bird's or monkey's face, and a depression on the top of its head that holds the liquid that endows it with superhuman strength, said to prey on travelers.
karakul one of an Asian sheep breed having dark, curly wool. [2 definitions]
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."