Kamikaze
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An attack requiring the suicide of the one carrying it out, especially when done with an aircraft. countable, uncountable
- 2 a fighter plane used for suicide missions by Japanese pilots in World War II wordnet
- 3 One who carries out a suicide attack, especially with an aircraft. countable
- 4 a pilot trained and willing to cause a suicidal crash wordnet
- 5 A vehicle used for a suicide attack, especially an aircraft. countable
"Coupled with this were issues involving actually getting enough torpedoes out there to the fleet in the first place! Whilst they were a munition, a torpedo is far more complex and took far longer to build than a shell for a naval gun, even a battleship shell. Torpedoes, remember, are effectively small self-guiding kamikaze submarines, and, so, unless you have a large factory and an extensive production line going, you're only gonna see handfuls produced each year."
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- 6 One who takes excessive risks, as for example in a sporting event. colloquial, countable
- 7 A cocktail made of equal parts vodka, triple sec and lime juice. countable
"Only top-shelf liquor is served, though Sasha refuses to serve drinks he deems fratlike. These include woo woos, kamikazes and shots of any kind."
- 8 A deliberate wipeout. countable
- 1 To destroy (a ship, etc.) in a suicide attack, especially by crashing an aircraft. transitive
- 2 To carry out a suicide attack, especially by crashing an aircraft. intransitive
- 3 To fail disastrously. intransitive, slang
- 1 Suicidal, risking one's own life. not-comparable
"Sheathed in helmets, gloves, and jackets, they look more like manic video game figures than humans. They weave through traffic and around double-decker buses at kamikaze velocity."
- 2 Having or showing reckless disregard for safety or personal welfare. not-comparable
Example
More examples"The only mystery in life is why the kamikaze pilots wore helmets."
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 神風(かみかぜ) (kamikaze, “divine wind”), from 神(かみ) (kami, “divine”) + 風(かぜ) (kaze, “wind”); which originally referred to the typhoon that destroyed the Mongol navy attacking Japan in 1281.
Related phrases
More for "kamikaze"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.