koala

[ koh-ah-luh ]

noun

1. a sluggish, tailless, gray, furry, arboreal marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, of Australia.

koala

/ kəʊˈɑːlə /

noun

1. a slow-moving Australian arboreal marsupial, Phascolarctus cinereus, having dense greyish fur and feeding on eucalyptus leaves and bark Also called (Austral)native bear

Word History and Origins

Origin of koala¹

1800–10; erroneous spelling for earlier koola ( h ) (now obsolete) < Dharuk gú-la

Word History and Origins

Origin of koala¹

from a native Australian language

Example Sentences

Blink, and a friend’s little bundle of semi-consciousness has grown to the size of a koala.

From New York Times

Like other organisms, some yeasts have evolved to be specialists -- think koalas, which eat nothing but eucalyptus leaves -- while others are generalists like raccoons, which eat just about anything.

From Science Daily

More than a dozen koalas were convalescing in open-air enclosures, wrapping their woolly arms around the trunks of eucalyptus trees.

From New York Times

It is the birthplace of songbirds, the land of egg-laying mammals and the world capital of pouch-bearing marsupials, a group that encompasses far more than just koalas and kangaroos.

From New York Times

“Koala Lou,” also by Ms. Fox, tells the story of a young koala wrestling with the arrival of a new sibling.

From New York Times