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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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

Located in the Pacific Ocean 2,500 miles north east of Australia, Nauru's historical wealth was built on its vast deposits of phosphate from fossilised bird poo.

From BBC ● 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 deal has also been cleared by several overseas regulatory bodies including in Australia and China, but is still awaiting approval from the U.K. and the European Union.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

The competition resumes later in the year for the autumn leg with England next in action against Australia on 8 November.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

He was my best friend in the whole world, and he’s probably king of Australia by now.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri