Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A member of the armed services who is reported killed during a combat mission.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun military a person who is killed in action.
  • adjective military killed in action.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[k(illed) i(n) a(ction).]

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Examples

  • KIA is the largest of the so-called cornerstone investors in the IPO.

    AIA IPO Seeks $17.1 Billion Alison Tudor 2010

  • SP5 Richard J. Hentz from Oshkosh, Wisconsin KIA/BNR

    Osborne, Rodney D. 1971

  • SP5 Richard J. Hentz from Oshkosh, Wisconsin KIA/BNR

    Algaard, Harold L. 1971

  • SP5 Richard J. Hentz from Oshkosh, Wisconsin KIA/BNR

    Hentz, Richard J. 1971

  • SP5 Richard J. Hentz from Oshkosh, Wisconsin KIA/BNR

    Strawn, John T. 1971

  • SP5 Richard J. Hentz from Oshkosh, Wisconsin KIA/BNR

    Marker, Michael W. 1971

  • After a death – referred to as a KIA for Killed In Action, or often as an Angel – there is a marked silence among the crew, a sadness that hangs heavy.

    Afghanistan Medevac Team Saves Lives During Wartime The Huffington Post News Team 2010

  • After a death & ndash; referred to as a KIA for Killed In Action, or often as an Angel & ndash; there is a marked silence among the crew, a sadness that hangs heavy.

    Afghanistan Medevac Team Saves Lives During Wartime The Huffington Post News Team 2010

  • But under the legal system here, after a certain period of detention, a police jail, in a police cell, they will then be moved to the island ` s prison, the correctional institute of Aruba, it ` s called, the KIA, which is down on the east end of the island.

    CNN Transcript Jun 22, 2005 2005

  • After a death - referred to as a KIA for Killed In Action, or often as an Angel - there is a marked silence among the crew, a sadness that hangs heavy.

    Kansas City Star: Front Page 2010

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