Australia

American  

[aw-streyl-yuh] / ɔˈstreɪl jə /

noun

1. a continent southeast of Asia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. 2,948,366 square miles (7,636,270 square kilometers).

2. Commonwealth of Australia, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, consisting of the federated states and territories of Australia and Tasmania. 2,974,581 square miles (7,704,165 square kilometers). Canberra.

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Australia British  

/ ɒˈstreɪlɪə /

noun

1. a country and the smallest continent, situated between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific: a former British colony, now an independent member of the Commonwealth, constitutional links with Britain formally abolished in 1986; consists chiefly of a low plateau, mostly arid in the west, with the basin of the Murray River and the Great Dividing Range in the east and the Great Barrier Reef off the NE coast. Official language: English. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: dollar. Capital: Canberra. Pop: 23 029 674 (2013 est). Area: 7 682 300 sq km (2 966 150 sq miles)

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Australia Cultural  

1. Nation occupying the whole of Australia, the smallest continent, between the Indian Ocean and the southwest Pacific Ocean. Its capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney.

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Discover More

The first settlements there were penal colonies for British convicts.

Its aboriginal tribes, which still exist today (see aborigines), are thought to have migrated from Southeast Asia twenty thousand years ago.

Compare meaning

How does australia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Oceania vs. Australia

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Australia

Stokes' last domestic 50-over cricket anywhere was a stint playing for Canterbury in New Zealand in 2017, during the period when he missed England's Ashes tour of Australia following an incident outside a Bristol nightclub.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Bran Black, chief executive of the Business Council of Australia says it was pleasing that the government is prioritizing the development of AI policy, while establishing an AI Office in Canberra.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Two dozen other regulators, including in Canada, Australia, China, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine, have cleared the Paramount deal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

Albanese said Australia "cannot settle for a short-term boom in capital expenditure and construction".

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

It appears that Indonesia is very slowly drowning, and dragging Australia down with it.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson