KAMIKAZE Definition & Meaning

kamikaze

[ kah-mi-kah-zee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

(during World War II) a member of a special corps in the Japanese air force charged with the suicidal mission of crashing an aircraft laden with explosives into an enemy target, especially a warship.
an airplane used for this purpose.
a person or thing that behaves in a wildly reckless or destructive manner:
We were nearly run down by a kamikaze on a motorcycle.

adjective

of, pertaining to, undertaken by, or characteristic of a kamikaze:
a kamikaze pilot; a kamikaze attack.

kamikaze

/ ˌ��æ��ɪˈ��ɑː��ɪ /

noun

(in World War II) one of a group of Japanese pilots who performed suicidal missions by crashing their aircraft, loaded with explosives, into an enemy target, esp a ship
an aircraft used for such a mission
modifier (of an action) undertaken or (of a person) undertaking an action in the knowledge that it will result in the death of the person performing it in order that maximum damage may be inflicted on an enemy
a kamikaze bomber
a kamikaze attack
modifier extremely foolhardy and possibly self-defeating
kamikaze pricing

kamikaze

Japanese fighter pilots in World War II , trained to make suicide crashes into Allied ships.

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of kamikaze¹

1940–45; < Japanese, equivalent to kami ( y ) god (earlier *kamui ) + kaze wind (earlier *kanzai

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of kamikaze¹

C20: from Japanese, from kami divine + kaze wind, referring to the winds that, according to Japanese tradition, destroyed a Mongol invasion fleet in 1281

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Example Sentences

He also attended a Japanese military school that trained kamikaze fighter pilots, where he was bullied for being Korean.

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In some cases, offenders are openly clearing shelves of items in full view of customers and shop workers - a tactic sometimes known as "kamikaze" shoplifting.

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Tom's combination with fellow flanker Sam Underhill was a revelation during the tournament and resulted in Jones nicknaming the pair the "kamikaze kids".

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Long before insurgents in the Middle East began deliberately blowing themselves up, the Japanese used kamikaze pilots in World War II, perhaps the first suicide bombers.

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“Without those technologies, those weapons would not fly. The brain of those ballistic missiles, the brain of those kamikaze drones, are made of Western technology,” she says.

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