Kk

K /kei/ noun, abbr.

mnoun (also k) [C, U] {pi. Ks, K’s, k’s /keiz/) the llth letter of the English alphabet ^ i^^11 A ^       :

‘King’ begins with (a) K/‘K’. * king —AAI k }fA0 m abbr. {pi. K) 1 (informaf) one thousand —A: She earns 40K {= £40 000) a year, jffe — A # 4     *

2                  kilometre(s) A A ; £ M : a 10K race 7) AM

3                  kelvin(s) Jf (  )

K-12 /.kei 'twelv/ od/. (in the US) relating to education from kindergarten (= the class that prepares children for school) to 12th grade ( A HI ) fkfdlJ LSPJ 12

Kaaba (also Caaba) /'kaiba/ noun [sing.] the building in the centre of the Great Mosque in Mecca, the site that is most holy to Muslims and towards which they must face when they are praying     A A ( MWiWfJrW

ka-baddi /'kAbodi/ noun [U] a S Asian sport played by teams of seven players on a round sand court. A player from one team tries to capture a player from the other team and must hold his/her breath while running, A

Bis (mx&ffAxmn, -femwA&mx

m   )

Kab ba lah (also Cabala, Qabalah) /ka'bdrla; 'kaebala/ noun (in Judaism $£ A tfc) the ancient tradition of explaining holy texts through mystical means

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ka-buki /ka'buiki/ noun [U] (from Japanese) traditional Japanese theatre, in which songs, dance and mime are performed by men ft M & ( 0 A # ik # , i M A

A'M )

kaffeeklatsch /'kaefeiklaetj1/ noun {NAmE, from German) a social event at which people drink coffee

Kaffir /’kasfo(r)/ noun {taboo, slang) a very offensive word for a black African AIP^A (  JIA&5-*#

mm)

kaffiyeh = KEFFIYEH

kafir /'kaefia(r); NAmE 'kaefar/ noun a word used by Muslims to refer to a person who is not a Muslim, that can be considered offensive AAA ( WA AjAAi-A

mmmmm -tumM >

Kafkaesque /.kaefka'esk/ adj. used to describe a situ­ation that is confusing and frightening, especially one involving complicated official rules and systems that do not seem to make any sense ff A H A (A : My attempt to get a new passport turned into a Kafkaesque nightmare.     if#rf/'B.Eft M© H 7

--       'g' # fc M 61) M H o wnmifli From the name of the

Czech writer Franz Kafka, whose novels often describe situations like this.  • if k A

(Kafka) m

kaftan (also caftan) /'kaeftaen/ noun 1 a long loose piece of clothing, usually with a belt at the waist, worn by men in Arab countries (

2 a woman’s long loose dress with long wide sleeves kagoul = CAGOULE

ka-huna /ka'huina/ noun {NAmE, informaf) an important person; the person in charge HA; j^icA kai /kai/ noun {NZE, informaf) food i£$} kai ser /'kaiza(r)/ noun (from German) 1 Kaiser (in the past) a ruler of Germany, of Austria, or of the Holy Roman Empire ( IBftil®.     )

H#: Kaiser Wilhelm   2 (also 'kaiser roll)

{NAmE) a crisp bread roll

kajal /’kAd3al/ noun [u] a type of black make-up used by S Asian women, that is put around the edge of the eyes to make them more noticeable and attractive (

=H%® )      *T3&

Ka lash ni kov /ka'laejnikDf; NAmE -ko:f/ noun a type of rifle (= a long gun) that can fire bullets very quickly

(msm. j.

kale /keil/ noun [U] {NAmE also 'coliard greens [pi.]) a dark green vegetable like a cabbage 33 kal eidoscope /ka'laidaskaup; NAmE -skoup/ noun 1 [C] a toy consisting of a tube that you look through with loose pieces of coloured glass and mirrors at the end. When the tube is turned, the pieces of glass move and form different patterns. Jf 2 [sing.] a situation, pattern, etc. containing a lot of different parts that are always changing { m&Tf

H ► kaleido-scop-ic /ka.laida'sknpik; NAmE -'skaipik/ adj.

ka-meez /ka'miiz/ noun {pi. ka-meez or ka-meezes) a piece of clothing like a long shirt worn by many people from S Asia        ( fp#^MASMfr&JBHfclfri)

— picture o sal war

kami-kaze /.kaemi'kaizi/ adj. [only before noun] (from Japanese) used to describe the way soldiers attack the enemy, knowing that they too will be killed ( fn]i!fcA$j: > ■ # M Bfe 65 > £ ^ 'I4 ift : a kamikaze pilot/ attack M; £ AttAcA O {figurative) He made

a kamikaze run across three lanes of traffic.

523 suicidal

kanga = khanga

kan ga roo /.kaerjga'ru:/ noun {pi. -oos) (also informal roo) a large Australian animal with a strong tail and back legs, that moves by jumping. The female carries its young in a pocket of skin (called a pouch) on the front of its body. £28, ( AAfiA^J® ) — picture o PAGE R28

.kangaroo 'court noun {disapproving) an illegal court that punishes people unfairly

mm ) ;

kanji /'kaend3i; 'ka:n-/ noun [U, C] {pi. kanji) (from Japanese) a Japanese system of writing based on Chinese symbols, called characters; a symbol in this system (

Kan nada /'kaenada/ (also Kan-ar-ese /.kaena'riiz/) noun [U] a language spoken in Karnataka in SW India ig,   )

kanzu /'kaenzu:/ noun (in E Africa) a long loose piece of outer clothing made from white cloth and worn by men

kao lin /'keialin/ (also .china ’day) noun [U] a type of fine white clay used in some medicines and in making porcelain for cups, plates, etc. it1]il$±'; ^±. kapok /’keipnk; NAmE -pa:k/ noun [U] a soft white material used for filling cushions, soft toys, etc. Kaposi’s sarcoma /ka.pousiz sai’kauma; NAmE ka.pousiz sair’kouma/ noun [U] a form of cancer that usually affects people whose immune systems are damaged, for example by AIDS

im  )

kappa /'kaepa/ noun the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet (K, k)        10

kaput /ka'pot/ adj. [not before noun] {informal) not working correctly; broken 35$$A-IE#; Af;     The

truck’s kaput.

kara-bin er /.kaera'biina^)/ noun a metal ring that can open to allow a rope to pass through, used by rock climbers to attach themselves safely to things ( j£j]j ) t,

kara oke /.kaeri'aoki; NAmE -‘ouki/ noun [U] (from Japanese) a type of entertainment in which a machine plays only the music of popular songs so that people can sing the words themselves A !£ OK: a karaoke machine/night/bar A& OK #1    / MnE

karat (NAmE) = carat(2)

karate /ka'raiti/ noun [U] a Japanese system of fighting in which you use your hands and feet as weapons ^ A it: a karate chop {= a blow with the side of the hand)