Kiowa
Americannoun
plural
Kiowas,plural
Kiowa-
a member of an Indigenous Great Plains tribe, now living primarily in Oklahoma.
-
the language of the Kiowa, closely related to Tanoan.
adjective
-
of or relating to the Kiowa or their language.
Etymology
Origin of Kiowa
First recorded in 1800–10; from Kiowa kɔjgwu “principal people”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lawrence, but she got to know his widow and fellow writer, Frieda, on her visits to the Kiowa Ranch that summer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
M. Scott Momaday, in his essay “The Way to Rainy Mountain,” describes his Kiowa grandmother, who “bore an image of deicide.”
From Salon • Sep. 1, 2024
In the parking lot were cars with tribal license plates from Cherokee, Chickasaw, Comanche, Kiowa and Otoe-Missouria tribes.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 20, 2022
Dorothy WhiteHorse, 89, a Kiowa who attended Riverside in the 1940s, said she recalled learning to dance the jitterbug in the school’s gymnasium and learning to speak English for the first time.
From Washington Times • Jul. 8, 2022
We were working in two-man teams—one man on guard while the other slept, switching off every two hours—and 1 remember it was still dark when Kiowa shook me awake for the final watch.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.