ban·zai

(bän-zī′)

A Japanese battle cry or patriotic cheer.

[Japanese, (may you live) ten thousand years! : from Middle Chinese ʋa⋮n`` syaj` (also the source of Mandarin wànsuì) : ʋa⋮n``, ten thousand + syaj`, year.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

banzai

(ˈbɑːnzaɪ; bɑːnˈzaɪ)

interj

a patriotic cheer, battle cry, or salutation

[Japanese: literally, (may you live for) ten thousand years]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ban•zai

(bɑnˈzaɪ, ˈbɑn-)

interj.

1. (used as a Japanese patriotic cry or joyous shout.)

2. (used as a Japanese battle cry.)

[1890–95; < Japanese, =ban ten thousand + sai years of age]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

banzai - a Japanese cheer of enthusiasm or triumph

cheer - a cry or shout of approval

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

"Banzai," originally produced for the U.K.'s Channel 4, has been reversioned as "Banzai Movie Nights," with segs used as links between cabler USA's Friday-night movies.

U.K.'s RDF turns junk to jewels

Gathered at his local offices in the town of Nakanojo, Gunma Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, the faithful shouted three rounds of "Banzai" to celebrate the hometown hero's elevation to the LDP presidency.

Obuchi's local supporters jubilant at his election

The couple may also visit Banzai Cliff, where hundreds of civilians and Japanese soldiers jumped to their deaths to avoid surrendering to U.S.

LEAD: Emperor, empress to make 1st postwar visit to Saipan in June

SPOOF Japanese-style gambling sensation, Banzai plays homage to all that is British.

Highlights: The week ahead

Channel 5 offers American TV series Popular about high school students battling to stay part of the in-crowd while Channel 4 launches the New Year with the latest series of Frasier and the return of Smack The Pony, Black Books and cult Japanese gambling show Banzai.

NEW YEAR TV GUIDE: A funny New Year to us all; THERE'S A GREAT LINE-UP OF NEW COMEDY TO LOOK FORWARD TO AT THE START OF 2002

E4 will be home to the first British runs of "Friends," "ER," "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City." Homemade programming will include "Banzai," a Japanese-style game show with interactive elements.

Channel 4 adding 4

Eight-month-old males Rocket, Peanut, Skidmark and Banzai learned how to ride breakers and can turn by shifting their weight.

I thought you said cheese board .. not surfboard!

It's Japanese spoof game show Banzai, the barrier busting programme dubbed The Orient Excess by critics.

Banzai goes on the offensive; The gambling Japanese funsters are doing a Jubilee special. So will the Queen be amused? We don't think so

3 EXECUTIVE producer Gary Monaghan says he and his friend used to make strange bets in the pub like what colour the fifth car past the window would be and the game developed into Banzai

WEEKEND TV: 10 things you didn't know about... BANZAI

Medford (as Banzai) takes full credit for a rather strenuous Ikeajoke that is among several changes to the West End script.

SOME EXPLICIT POLAROIDS

Her biggest role until now has been playing a game of wheelchair-bound chicken with another granny on TV's Banzai.

Amy's i: PLAYSTATION'S NEW DOTCOM; NET NEWS

Shogun and Tenko were both infused with Japanese themes, while Banzai is a British-made show with an unmistakable eastern flavour.

How to make it big in Japan; From cartoons to ritual humiliation, TV in the land of the rising sun has never been far from the cutting edge, says JULIE MacCASKILL