kamikaze

plural kamikazes

1. countableuncountableAn attack requiring the suicide of the one carrying it out, especially when done with an aircraft.
2. countableOne who carries out a suicide attack, especially with an aircraft.
3. countableA vehicle used for a suicide attack, especially an aircraft.

   The Ukrainians themselves have been using kamikaze drones to strike against Russian targets – and asked their allies to supply them with more of these deadly weapons.

   2022 October 17, Ivana Kottasová, “‘Kamikaze’ drones are the latest threat for Ukraine. Here’s what we know”, in CNN

   1 more example

   Coupled with this were issues involving actually getting enough torpedoes out there to the fleet in the first place! Whilst they were a munition, a torpedo is far more complex and took far longer to build than a shell for a naval gun, even a battleship shell. Torpedoes, remember, are effectively small self-guiding kamikaze submarines, and, so, unless you have a large factory and an extensive production line going, you're only gonna see handfuls produced each year.

   2020 February 12, Drachinifel, 8:16 from the start, in The Mark 14 Torpedo - Failure is Like Onions, archived from the original on 24 Nov 2022

4. colloquialcountableOne who takes excessive risks, as for example in a sporting event.
5. countableA cocktail made of equal parts vodka, triple sec and lime juice.

   Only top-shelf liquor is served, though Sasha refuses to serve drinks he deems fratlike. These include woo woos, kamikazes and shots of any kind.

   2000 May 7, Julia Chaplin, “Buzz Off: Secret Bars That Spurn Hype”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 May 2025

6. countablehobbiesA deliberate wipeout.

present singular third person kamikazes · participle present kamikazeing · participle past kamikazed · past kamikazed

1. transitiveTo destroy (a ship, etc.) in a suicide attack, especially by crashing an aircraft.
2. intransitiveTo carry out a suicide attack, especially by crashing an aircraft.
3. intransitiveslangTo fail disastrously.

1. not comparableSuicidal, risking one's own life.

   Sheathed in helmets, gloves, and jackets, they look more like manic video game figures than humans. They weave through traffic and around double-decker buses at kamikaze velocity.

   2018 February, Robert Draper, “They are Watching You—and Everything Else on the Planet: Technology and Our Increasing Demand for Security have Put Us All under Surveillance. Is Privacy Becoming just a Memory?”, in National Geographic, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Jun 2018

2. not comparableHaving or showing reckless disregard for safety or personal welfare.