Definition of "kind" in English

noun

1. A type, race or category; a group of entities that have common characteristics such that they may be grouped together.

   • What kind of (a) person are you?
   • This is a strange kind of tobacco.
   • What kind of ice-cream would you like? There's chocolate, strawberry, and lemon.

2. A makeshift or otherwise atypical specimen.

   • The opening served as a kind of window.

3. (archaic) One's inherent nature; character, natural disposition.

4. (archaic) Family, lineage.

   • My young love said to me, My mother won’t mind And my father won’t slight you for your lack of kind.

5. (archaic) Manner.

6. Goods or services used as payment, as e.g. in barter.

   • in kind
   • I don't have any money but I can pay in kind by washing the dishes.

7. Equivalent means used as response to an action.

   • in kind
   • I'll pay in kind for his insult.

8. (Christianity) Each of the two elements of the communion service, bread and wine.

9. (type theory) The type of a type constructor or a higher-order type operator.

   • The kind of any primitive data type is *, corresponding to a nullary constructor.

10. (Caribbean, in compounds) Food in a particular category.

adjective

1. Having a benevolent, courteous, friendly, generous, gentle, liberal, sympathetic, or warm-hearted nature or disposition, marked by consideration for – and service to – others.

2. Affectionate.

   • a kind man; a kind heart

3. Favorable.

4. Mild, gentle, forgiving

   • The years have been kind to Richard Gere; he ages well.

5. Gentle; tractable; easily governed.

   • a horse kind in harness

6. (obsolete) Characteristic of the species; belonging to one's nature; natural; native.