Kiowa

noun

Ki·​o·​wa ˈkī-ə-ˌwȯ  -ˌwä  -ˌwā 

1

plural Kiowa or Kiowas : a member of an Indigenous people of the southern Great Plains

Note: Modern-day members live as the federally recognized Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma.

2

: the language of the Kiowa people

Examples of Kiowa in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His most famous series of books detail a veteran and newbie pair of Navajo Tribal Police officers named Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, played in this series by Zahn McClarnon and Kiowa Gordon, respectively. —Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 20 Aug. 2024

Waters, who is from the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma and a Cherokee citizen, is one of the few NBA players of Native American descent in league history. —Justice Delos Santos, The Mercury News, 14 Oct. 2024

Over forty Native American nations — including Winnebago, Cherokee, Kiowa, Lakota, Navajo, Santo Domingo, Taino, Rappahannock, and Choctaw — will be represented at this 3-day program. —Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 25 July 2024

Frontage Road Kingman: 3320 N. Stockton Hills Road Lake Havasu City: 1799 Kiowa Ave. —Shelby Slade, The Arizona Republic, 12 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

ultimately from Kiowa kɔ́ygú, a self-designation

First Known Use

1808, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

Kiowa

noun

Ki·​o·​wa ˈkī-ə-ˌwȯ  -ˌwä 

plural Kiowa or Kiowas

: a member of an Indigenous people of what are now Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas