Meanings
- A stock science-fiction phrase, typically used as a code or shibboleth.
If anything should happen to me you must go to Gort, you must say these words, 'Klaatu barada nikto', please repeat that.
1951, The Day the Earth Stood Still4 more examples
When I tried to make out the lingo I felt like a missionary among the heathen chinee. ¶ 'Interavesting per sliptimper transgratisfy allayvoo —' ¶ 'Not the old klaatu barada again,' I said ....
2002, Jack Womack, Going, Going, Gone, Grove Press, page 160He glared down at me and said, "On your way, fella. This is a legitimate club." ¶ "Klaatu barada nikto," I said, but it went straight past him.
2003, Paul McAuley, Whole Wide World, Macmillan, page 215The Systems Analysis department featured a clock with only one hand and the motto Klaatu barada nikto, which, roughly translated, means: "IF IT AIN'T BROKE, JUST GIVE ME TIME."
2004, James Hold, Out of Texas, iUniverse, page 56It looked like something from Arthur C. Clarke, a space station that had ... fallen to earth .... ¶ "Klaatu barada nikto," he muttered.
2012, Terry Bisson, Any Day Now, Penguin, page ??
Origin
From the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still, in which an alien named Klaatu tells an Earthwoman a code phrase for his robot Gort. See first citation.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Klaatu barada nikto. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Klaatu%20barada%20nikto
“Klaatu barada nikto.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Klaatu%20barada%20nikto. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Klaatu barada nikto,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Klaatu%20barada%20nikto.
Source: Klaatu barada nikto on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.