kauri
noun
kau·ri
ˈkau̇(-ə)r-ē 
1
: any of various trees (genus Agathis) of the araucaria family
especially
: a tall timber tree (A. australis) of New Zealand having fine white straight-grained wood
called also kauri pine
2
: a light-colored to brown resin from the kauri tree found as a fossil in the ground or collected from living trees and used especially in varnishes and linoleum
called also kauri gum, kauri resin
Examples of kauri in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nelson Parker Workers preparing a site for a new power-plant unearthed the massive kauri tree trunk, perfectly preserved for 42,000 years, with its rings offering up an incredible 1,700-year record of the Earth’s environmental conditions exactly spanning the period of the Laschamps Excursion.
—
New Atlas, 13 Feb. 2025
Photo by Carmen Bird Aotea (Great Barrier Island), New Zealand
Also on Afar’s Where to Go in 2025 list, Aotea (Great Barrier Island) is an off-the-grid paradise of white-sand beaches and old-growth kauri forests.
—Becca Blond, AFAR Media, 5 Feb. 2025
Spend your days hiking through dense kauri woods or exploring jagged inlets.
—Anne Olivia Bauso, Travel + Leisure, 25 Mar. 2023
But Weimer also works with Hawaiian koa wood, Honduran mahogany, Central American cocobolo, African bubinga, South American pao ferro and New Zealand kauri wood, which is thousands of years old.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Sep. 2022
The trunks of ancient kauri trees indicated that the Laschamp Excursion caused major extinctions.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Apr. 2021
Scientists analyzed the rings found in ancient New Zealand kauri trees, some which had been preserved in sediments for more than 40,000 years, to create a timescale of how Earth's atmosphere changed over time.
—Amy Woodyatt, CNN, 19 Feb. 2021
In the past decade, a unique strain of phytophthora has been identified as targeting kauri.
—Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2020
Somewhere in the middle of New Zealand, there is a kauri tree stump (Agathis australis) that should not be alive.
—Kelly Mayes, Science | AAAS, 25 July 2019
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New Atlas, 13 Feb. 2025
Photo by Carmen Bird Aotea (Great Barrier Island), New Zealand
Also on Afar’s Where to Go in 2025 list, Aotea (Great Barrier Island) is an off-the-grid paradise of white-sand beaches and old-growth kauri forests.
—Becca Blond, AFAR Media, 5 Feb. 2025
Spend your days hiking through dense kauri woods or exploring jagged inlets.
—Anne Olivia Bauso, Travel + Leisure, 25 Mar. 2023
But Weimer also works with Hawaiian koa wood, Honduran mahogany, Central American cocobolo, African bubinga, South American pao ferro and New Zealand kauri wood, which is thousands of years old.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Sep. 2022
The trunks of ancient kauri trees indicated that the Laschamp Excursion caused major extinctions.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 27 Apr. 2021
Scientists analyzed the rings found in ancient New Zealand kauri trees, some which had been preserved in sediments for more than 40,000 years, to create a timescale of how Earth's atmosphere changed over time.
—Amy Woodyatt, CNN, 19 Feb. 2021
In the past decade, a unique strain of phytophthora has been identified as targeting kauri.
—Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2020
Somewhere in the middle of New Zealand, there is a kauri tree stump (Agathis australis) that should not be alive.
—Kelly Mayes, Science | AAAS, 25 July 2019
Cite this Entry
“Kauri.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kauri. Accessed 26 Jul. 2025.
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