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Definition of kombu

kombu

/ˈkɑːm.buː/
kom · bu
Plural:kombus
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kombu Lexical Profile

kombu Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

An edible marine brown alga or kelp (primarily of the genus Saccharina, family Laminariaceae) harvested from the cold coastal waters of East Asia, widely used as a sea vegetable and as a savory base for Japanese dashi broth.

Example

"The chef steeped a strip of dried kombu in warm water to extract its rich umami flavor for the soup stock."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for kombu

• Rhymes for kombu

• Nearby Words

kolyma
komati
komatsuna
kombu
kombucha
komodo dragon
kongou falls

Word Origin & Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese konbu (昆布), which may ultimately derive from an Ainu word for edible kelp.

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Kombu. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/kombu
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