koala

[ koh-ah-luh ]
See synonyms for koala on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a sluggish, tailless, gray, furry, arboreal marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, of Australia.

Origin of koala

1
1800–10; erroneous spelling for earlier koola(h) (now obsolete) <Dharuk gú-la

Words Nearby koala

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use koala in a sentence

  • In the koala (Australian native bear), a vegetable-feeding marsupial, it is more than thrice the size of the body.

    Degeneracy | Eugene S. Talbot
  • A terrible hullabaloo between a pair of Opossums up a neighbouring gum tree arrested the attention of both Dot and the koala.

    Dot and the Kangaroo | Ethel C. Pedley
  • The koala saw that Dot was proud, but as it didn't see any reason why she should be, it was not a bit afraid of her.

    Dot and the Kangaroo | Ethel C. Pedley
  • It then got the koala to look into the mirror also, and said it would get an idea into its little empty head if it did.

    Dot and the Kangaroo | Ethel C. Pedley
  • Another pouched animal is the koala, or Ashy koala as it is called.

British Dictionary definitions for koala

koala

koala bear

/ (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

Origin of koala

1
from a native Australian language

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