moa

M3O1A1
New Zealand/ˈmɒʌ/New Zealand/ˈmoə/UK/ˈməʊə/Philippines/ˈmoa/ [ˈmoː.ɐ]

noun

Any of several species of large, extinct, flightless birds of the family Dinornithidae that were native to New Zealand; until its extinction, one species was the largest bird in the world.

Less commonFirst used 19th c.Scrabble 5

Meanings

moa1

nounmoa (plural moa or moas)

plural moas

  1. Any of several species of large, extinct, flightless birds of the family Dinornithidae that were native to New Zealand; until its extinction, one species was the largest bird in the world.First known use 19th c.

    For instance, the little bush moa fed nearly exclusively on forest vegetation, whereas the heavy-footed moa was a grazer in open vegetation habitats.

    2018 April 4, Hanneke Meijer, The Guardian, archived from the original on 04 Apr 2018
    1 more example

    The moas (order Dinornithiformes) of New Zealand are likewise extinct but almost certainly some still survived when Tasman first sighted the islands in 1642.

    2000, Errol Fuller, Extinct Birds, Oxford, page 29
  2. InternetuncommonAn extremely tall individual.

MOA2

nounMOA (plural MOAs)

plural MOAs

  1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of minute of angle.
  2. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of military operations area.
  3. abbreviationacronymAcronym of memorandum of agreement.
  4. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of mission-oriented approach (NATO AAP-15).
  5. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of mechanism of action.
proper noun
  1. PhilippinesabbreviationAbbreviation of SM Mall of Asia.

MoA3

nounMoA (plural MoAs)

plural MoAs

  1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of mechanism of action.
proper noun
  1. PhilippinesabbreviationAbbreviation of SM Mall of Asia.

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Proto-Polynesian*moa“fowl”
  2. Māorimoa
  3. Englishmoa

Borrowed from Māori moa, from Proto-Polynesian *moa (“fowl”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic مُوَّا
  • مُوَّا (muwwā)extinct bird
Catalan dinornis, moa
  • dinornisextinct bird
  • moaextinct bird
Chinese Mandarin 恐鳥 /恐鸟
  • 恐鳥 /恐鸟 (kǒngniǎo)extinct bird
Czech moa
  • moaextinct bird
Danish moa
  • moaextinct bird
Dutch moa
  • moaextinct bird
Finnish moa
  • moaextinct bird
German Moa
  • Moaextinct bird
Hebrew מואה
  • מואהextinct bird
Hungarian moa
  • moaextinct bird
Japanese モア
  • モア (moa)extinct bird
Korean 모아
  • 모아 (moa)extinct bird
Lithuanian moa
  • moaextinct bird
Māori moa, kuranui
  • moaextinct bird
  • kuranuiextinct bird
Norwegian moafugl
  • moafuglextinct bird
Polish moa
  • moaextinct bird
Portuguese moa
  • moaextinct bird
Russian мо́а
  • мо́а (móa)extinct bird
Spanish dinornítido, moa
  • dinornítidoextinct bird
  • moaextinct bird
Swedish moafågel
  • moafågelextinct bird

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

moa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moa

MLA

“moa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moa. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “moa,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moa.

Source: moa on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.