Australia Day

American

noun

a legal holiday in Australia, the first Monday after January 25, commemorating the landing of the British in 1788.

Australia Day British

noun

a public holiday in Australia, commemorating the landing of the British in 1788: observed on the first Monday after Jan 26

"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

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.

Crowds took to the streets in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and other cities on Australia Day, many with banners proclaiming: "Always was, always will be Aboriginal land".

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

And it says a years-long campaign aimed at increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation and "setting a new tone for Australia Day" has been a "great success".

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2024

Coastal Queensland is popular with holidaymakers and tourists, but the wild weather caused problems for the Australia Day holiday Friday as a number of campgrounds were forced to close.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 25, 2024

Have your views of Australia Day — and how you mark the day — changed over time?

From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2024

An incomplete Glossary of Australian terms and concepts which may prove helpful to understanding this book: Anniversary Day: Alluded to in the text, is now known as Australia Day.

From On the Track by Lawson, Henry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023