Papua
Americannoun
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Former name: British New Guinea. a former territory of Australia, consisting of SE New Guinea and adjacent islands: now part of Papua New Guinea
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Former names (until 1962): Dutch New Guinea. Netherlands New Guinea. Former Indonesian names: Irian Barat. Irian Jaya. Former English name: West Irian. the W part of the island of New Guinea: formerly under Dutch rule, becoming a province of Indonesia in 1963. Capital: Jayapura. Pop: 2 220 934 (2000). Area: 416 990 sq km (161 000 sq miles)
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an inlet of the Coral Sea in the SE coast of New Guinea
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Looking ahead, Dr. Reddy and Professor Thomas will take part in the upcoming Tara Coral expedition in Papua New Guinea this June.
From Science Daily • May 8, 2026
A tiny possum with one extra-long finger on each hand is one of two species thought to have been extinct that have been discovered in West Papua, in what's been called an "exceptional" scientific discovery.
From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026
West Papua reveals two species that we thought were extinct.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 6, 2026
The company has secured a 15-year bareboat charter to provide a floating storage and offloading unit in Papua New Guinea, the country’s first offshore floating facility, it notes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
Because there had not been an earthquake in Papua New Guinea that day, my parents were all hyperfocused on me, and so I could not hide this flash flood of anxiety.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
