Australia

American  

[aw-strayl-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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Australia

Coronado’s Curragh mine in Australia achieved its strongest quarter for run-of-mine coal production since 2020, says Jefferies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Australia last year became the first country to introduce such a social media ban for kids, barring under-16s.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

With Australia opening their campaign with a 40-0 win over Samoa, Barrow says his side will have to step things up from last weekend.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Gauges of private-sector business activity in major Asian economies diverged this month as momentum in Australia stalled while India improved.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

He was a traveler, back somewhere in Australia before the pregnancy test.

From "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour

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