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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).


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)

"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

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The disruption has particularly affected petrochemical sectors in Asia and forced governments to take action, with South Korea imposing a ban this month on hoarding syringes and needles to guard against shortages.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

Oil rose in Asia on Monday amid rising tensions related to the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil is typically transported.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

“The good news for Asia is that the AI build-out globally remains very strong and if anything seems to be accelerating,” the senior currency analyst adds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

The company also has more than 460 outlets outside of the country, with plans to have 1,000 shops operating in South East Asia alone in the next three years.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

But there’s a huge demand for these clams in Asia.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day