Banzai
//ˈbɑːnˈzaɪ// adj, intj, noun, verb
adj, intj, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A cry or cheer of "banzai", to express enthusiasm or celebrate victory.
- 2 a Japanese cheer of enthusiasm or triumph wordnet
- 3 Clipping of banzai charge. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
Verb
- 1 To carry out a banzai charge (against). ambitransitive
Adjective
- 1 Thrill-seeking; wild.
"Still, the Seca II isn't meant to be a racebike, and power is adequate for all but the most banzai backroad blitzing."
Intj
- 1 A cry or cheer of enthusiasm, or to celebrate victory.
Example
More examples"We cried banzai at the news that he won the gold medal."
Etymology
From Japanese 万歳(ばんざい) (banzai, “long live..., huzzah, hurrah”), from Middle Chinese 萬歲 (mjonᴴ sjwejᴴ), from Old Chinese 萬歲 (*mans s-qʷʰats, “10,000 years [of life]”, i.e. “immortality”), from 萬 /万 (wàn, “10,000”) 歲 /岁 (suì, “year (of age)”). Compare Mandarin 萬歲／万岁 (wànsùi).
Related phrases
More for "banzai"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.