Australia

American  

[aw-streyl-yuh] / ɔˈstreɪl yə /

noun

1. a continent southeast of Asia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. 2,948,366 square miles (7,636,270 square kilometers).

2. 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.

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Australia British  

/ ɒˈstreɪlɪə /

noun

1. 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)

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Australia Cultural  

1. 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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Discover More

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

Variants of land-focused taxation are also used in parts of Australia and Northern Europe, again with favorable outcomes for economic development.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

LIV Golf has been popular in golf-starved locales such as Australia and South Africa, but TV ratings are low everywhere and interest in events held in the United States is tepid.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

It is due to start in 2H of 2028 if the current drilling campaign in the Otway Basin of southeastern Australia finds enough gas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Australia is currently at stage two of a four-level fuel security plan which was agreed to by federal, state and territory leaders last month.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

How, he wondered, did marsupials travel from South America to Australia?

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson