hai ‧ ku /ˈhaɪkuː/ BrE AmE noun ( plural haiku or haikus ) [countable]
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Language: Japanese ; Origin: haikai no ku 'not serious poem' ]
a type of Japanese poem with three lines consisting of five, seven, and five ↑ syllable s
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THESAURUS
■ a poem
▪ poem a piece of writing that expresses emotions, experiences, and ideas, especially in short lines using words that rhyme:
‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ is the first line of a famous poem by WIlliam Wordsworth.
▪ sonnet a poem with 14 lines which rhyme with each other in a fixed pattern:
Shakespeare’s sonnets
▪ haiku a type of Japanese poem with three lines consisting of five, seven, and five syllables:
a haiku by Matsuo Basho about a frog jumping into a pond
▪ limerick a short humorous poem that has five lines which rhyme:
a limerick by Edward Lear, which began ‘There was a young lady of Norway, Who casually sat in a doorway’.
▪ rhyme a short poem or song, especially for children, using words that rhyme:
a collection of traditional rhymes with illustrations
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The children were reciting a rhyme.
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a nursery rhyme (=a short traditional poem or song for children)