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# karma

noun (karma, uncountable)

«karma» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (religion) In Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, karma is the idea that a person's actions, good or bad, bring results back to them, in this life or a future life. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/karma/#m1)
2. (informal) The idea that good or bad things happen to you because of how you behaved: «That's karma!». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/karma/#m2)

### In the lessons

In religious education karma is taught with rebirth (reincarnation) in Indian religions. In everyday English people use «karma» loosely, often as a joke when someone who did wrong has bad luck. Phrases: «good karma», «bad karma», «instant karma», «karma will get you».

### Examples

- Hindus believe karma follows a person into their next life. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/karma/#x1)
- Buddhists try to do good actions to make good karma. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/karma/#x2)
- He laughed at me and then tripped; that's karma! (informal) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/karma/#x3)
- Helping others is said to bring good karma. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/karma/#x4)
- The idea of karma means our actions matter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/karma/#x5)
- Instant karma: the boy who took the last cake dropped it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/karma/#x6)
- Our RE teacher explained karma with a story about a kind farmer. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/karma/#x7)

### Note

Uncountable. A Sanskrit word meaning «action». The everyday joke sense («karma got him») is looser than the religious meaning; in the religions karma is not a magic punishment but the result of actions.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «karma» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/karma/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«karma» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/karma.html) on Mova free.