Sumatra

[ soo-mah-truh ]

noun

1. a large island in the W part of Indonesia. 164,147 sq. mi. (425,141 sq. km).

Sumatra

/ sʊˈmɑːtrə /

noun

1. a mountainous island in W Indonesia, in the Greater Sunda Islands, separated from the Malay Peninsula by the Strait of Malacca: Dutch control began in the 16th century; joined Indonesia in 1945. Northern coastal areas, esp Aceh province, suffered devastation as a result of the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. Pop: 42 409 510 (2000). Area: 473 606 sq km (182 821 sq miles) Indonesian spelllingSumatera

Sumatra

1. Island in Indonesia in the Indian Ocean northwest of Java and west of Malaysia .

Notes

Though much of the island is covered by swampland and impenetrable rain forest, Sumatra's industries — including oil, coal, gold, silver, rubber, timber, and tobacco — produce over half of Indonesia's income .

Other Words From

• Su·matran adjective noun

Example Sentences

The only thing that could have pushed the corals so high was the magnitude-8 earthquake that struck Sumatra that year.

From Science News For Students

Mallick and his team, for instance, discovered the 200-year-old slow-slip event near Sumatra by reading the growth patterns in old corals.

From Science News For Students

In some corals along the coast of the island of Simeulue, near Sumatra, Mallick and his colleagues noticed the corals showed odd growth patterns.

From Science News For Students

An early modern human presence in Sumatra 73,000-63,000 years ago.

From Nautilus

The foundation has worked to protect tigers from extinction in Nepal, rainforests in Sumatra, and endangered sharks.

From The Daily Beast

The Sumatra quake, which killed hundreds of thousands of people Indonesia, was an 8.8.

From The Daily Beast

After filming Amélie I went on a holiday to Sumatra, and I was interested in studying orangutans.

From The Daily Beast

I don't suppose he lies;—he sells it to the editor, who knows how many squares off "Sumatra" is.

From Project Gutenberg

Sumatra tobacco is one of the finest varieties cultivated, and commands in European markets the very highest prices.

From Project Gutenberg

To our left lay a number of mountainous islands, which completely intercepted our view of Sumatra.

From Project Gutenberg

In Sumatra some of the finest tobacco in the world is produced which has an established reputation in European markets.

From Project Gutenberg

Contrasted with these islands lie another group of three—Borneo, Sumatra, and Java.

From Project Gutenberg