noun
kata
KA-tuh
noun
1
A set sequence of movements and stances practised in martial arts to build technique and muscle memory.
"The students ran through their kata in perfect unison before the belt test."
2
A short, self-contained coding exercise practised repeatedly to sharpen a programmer's skills.
"He starts every morning with a quick coding kata before checking email."
How to Use Kata
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA fixed pattern of practice movements — in martial arts, a choreographed sequence of moves; in coding, a short practice exercise.
Common pairings
practice a kata
perform a kata
coding kata
Word Forms
more kata comparative, katas plural, kata plural, most kata superlative
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The students ran through their _____ in perfect unison before the belt test.
Etymology
From Japanese kata, literally "form" or "pattern"; the programming sense is a modern borrowing of the martial-arts term, in English use since the 1950s.