Asia

American  

[ey-zhuh, ey-shuh] / ˈeɪ ʒə, ˈeɪ ʃə /

noun

1. a continent bounded by Europe and the Arctic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. About 16,000,000 square miles (41,440,000 square kilometers).

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Asia British  

/ ˈeɪʒə, ˈeɪʃə /

noun

1. the largest of the continents, bordering on the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean and Red Seas in the west. It includes the large peninsulas of Asia Minor, India, Arabia, and Indochina and the island groups of Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka); contains the mountain ranges of the Hindu Kush, Himalayas, Pamirs, Tian Shan, Urals, and Caucasus, the great plateaus of India, Iran, and Tibet, vast plains and deserts, and the valleys of many large rivers including the Mekong, Irrawaddy, Indus, Ganges, Tigris, and Euphrates. Pop: 3 917 508 000 (2005 est). Area: 44 391 162 sq km (17 139 445 sq miles)

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Asia Cultural  

1. World's largest continent, joined to Europe to the west, forming Eurasia.

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Discover More

Site of some of the world's earliest civilizations.

With three-fifths of the world's population, Asia has some of the world's greatest population densities.

Example Sentences

Balenciaga plans to expand the women’s collection and strengthen its leather goods category, while broadening its geographical presence beyond Asia, where it performs well.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

"No single country in Asia can insulate itself from supply chain shocks of this scale by acting alone," he said.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

For Saint Laurent, the group intends to strengthen its men’s collection and enhance its leather goods offering, while accelerating the brand’s geographic expansion, with a particular focus on Asia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Some 80% of Middle East crude and crude products are headed to Asia in normal times, with the rest heading to Europe.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

The gamelan orchestras of southeast Asia, for example, have an aesthetic preference for the "lively and full" sounds that come from instruments playing near, not on, the same pitch.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones