Definition of "hari-kari" [ha•ri-ka•ri•ri•ka•ri]

• Variant of hara-kiri. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• ""We think they would try to avoid this at all costs because it would be effectively hari-kari , and by that I do mean political suicide," Behravesh said."
• "Roosevelt thought he was committing bureaucratic hari-kari."
• "During the samurai days, we'd just give you a knife and ask you to commit hari-kari."