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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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

See Examples For:

Asia

These medium-sized mammals, found only in Africa and Asia, have long, powerful tails, large curved claws, and bodies covered in overlapping scales that resemble a pinecone.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

But Matthew Wheeler, International Crisis Group's senior analyst for Southeast Asia, said it was "business as usual".

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Foot Locker was also being pinched by U.S. tariffs on imports from Asia, where many sneakers are produced.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Her husband, a former Gurkha who fought alongside the British in south east Asia, died in 2020.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The population of Europe and western Asia between 130,000 and 40,000 years ago is represented by especially many skeletons, known as Neanderthals and sometimes classified as a separate species, Homo neanderthalensis.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond