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

France is the second country to introduce a ban, following Australia.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Lindt said its sales picked up in North America, Australia, China, and Japan, though these countries account for a much smaller slice of its sales than Europe, where it makes over half its revenue.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Lake drying is not unusual in Australia, where long periods of low rainfall can cause water levels to fall dramatically.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

In December last year, Australia became the first country in the world to require TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other top sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, or face heavy fines.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

The climate changes that beset Australia about 45,000 years ago destabilised the ecosystem and made it particularly vulnerable.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari