Australia

American

[aw-streyl-yuh] / ɔˈstreɪl yə /

noun

a continent southeast of Asia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. 2,948,366 square miles (7,636,270 square kilometers).
Commonwealth of Australia, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, consisting of the federated states and territories of Australia and Tasmania. 2,974,581 square miles (7,704,165 square kilometers). Canberra.

Australia British

/ ɒˈstreɪlɪə /

noun

a country and the smallest continent, situated between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific: a former British colony, now an independent member of the Commonwealth, constitutional links with Britain formally abolished in 1986; consists chiefly of a low plateau, mostly arid in the west, with the basin of the Murray River and the Great Dividing Range in the east and the Great Barrier Reef off the NE coast. Official language: English. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: dollar. Capital: Canberra. Pop: 23 029 674 (2013 est). Area: 7 682 300 sq km (2 966 150 sq miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Australia Cultural

Nation occupying the whole of Australia, the smallest continent, between the Indian Ocean and the southwest Pacific Ocean. Its capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney.

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The first settlements there were penal colonies for British convicts.

Its aboriginal tribes, which still exist today (see aborigines), are thought to have migrated from Southeast Asia twenty thousand years ago.

Compare meaning

How does australia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Oceania vs. Australia

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She recently flew back to the UK from a series of festival shows in Australia.

From BBC

At Flinders University in South Australia, several research teams are working on new materials designed to reduce pollution from single use plastics.

From Science Daily

He was arrested in Australia at the request of the U.S. government and extradited to Los Angeles in January.

From Los Angeles Times

Marking the third full Moon of 2026, this display will be a double spectacle for lucky sky watchers in parts of the Americas, Asia, and Australia as it coincides with a rare total lunar eclipse.

From BBC

Fans are now looking ahead to the 2026 F1 race calendar which kicks off in Melbourne, Australia on 6 March - and many will be hoping for a repeat of drama like in 2021.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023