kava

noun

ka·​va ˈkä-və How to pronounce kava (audio)
1
: an Australasian shrubby pepper (Piper methysticum) from whose crushed root an intoxicating beverage is made
also : the beverage made from kava
2
: the dried rhizome and roots of the kava used especially as a dietary supplement chiefly to relieve stress and anxiety

Examples of kava in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The city’s quiet kava crackdown started in November 2022, when the Health Department issued a summons to KavaSutra, a kava bar on First Street. Chris Crowley, Curbed, 15 July 2024 There was fresh tuna and limpet poke, Burmese tea leaf salad, and lots of kava tea. Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Sep. 2024 At night, guests are invited to sit with the entire staff for a traditional taste of kava, a beverage made from water and the ground root of the pepper plant. David Hochman, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024 Talk to your healthcare provider before consuming kava. Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 16 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for kava 

Word History

Etymology

Tongan & Marquesan, literally, bitter

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of kava was in 1810

Dictionary Entries Near kava

Cite this Entry

“Kava.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kava. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.

Medical Definition

kava

noun
ka·​va ˈkäv-ə How to pronounce kava (audio)
1
: an Australasian shrubby pepper (Piper methysticum) from whose crushed root an intoxicating beverage is made
also : the beverage
2
: a preparation consisting of the ground dried rhizome and roots of the kava plant that is used as a dietary supplement chiefly to relieve stress, anxiety, and sleeplessness and in folk medicine especially as a diuretic and urogenital antiseptic and that has been linked to cases of severe liver injury

More from Merriam-Webster on kava

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