Meaning & use
kapok
Last updated
A silky, buoyant fiber that grows around the seeds of the kapok tree, used for stuffing pillows, mattresses, and life jackets.
See it in a sentence
The old life vest was stuffed with kapok instead of foam.
Farmers once harvested kapok pods by hand before synthetic fibers replaced the material.
A note on using this word
Kapok comes from the seed pods of the ceiba tree; it's valued for being lightweight and naturally water-resistant, which made it popular in life jackets before synthetic foams took over.
Words with a similar meaning
silk-cotton
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