How to Use haka in a Sentence

haka

noun
  • The haka can signal celebration or protest and convey a range of messages.
    — Ronnie Li, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Performances such as the haka or songs in Parliament require prior approval.
    — Ronnie Li, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Footage of the haka posted on X showed the group performing in front of a portrait of Kirk, drawing applause from a crowd of hundreds.
    — Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 14 Sep. 2025
  • The haka is a ceremonial Maori chanting dance of defiance that is a cherished cultural symbol of New Zealand.
    — Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 14 Sep. 2025
  • The Black Ferns were welcomed to the city at the airport by local New Zealand dance group Te Waka Ora, who performed a haka at their arrival.
    — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 18 Apr. 2026
  • One of the film’s key sequences — in which Mārama performs a ferocious Māori dance called the haka — was Stappard’s idea, but grew much more impactful with the help of a traditional choreographer.
    — William Earl, Variety, 26 June 2026
  • The Masters’ green jacket, the haka before New Zealand rugby matches, the seventh-inning stretch in baseball—these rituals are not just trimmings but the connective tissue of sport.
    — Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 6 Oct. 2025
  • New Zealand, then known as the Gal Blacks, had been granted permission from Maori elders to perform the haka, the ceremonial war dance that features chanting, stamping and facial gestures such as pukana (bulging eyes) and whetero (sticking out the tongue).
    — Peter Carline, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
  • In 2024, Parliament was briefly suspended when Māori lawmakers performed a haka opposing the Treaty Principles Bill, which sought to reinterpret the 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Māori.
    — Ronnie Li, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'haka.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: