koala

[koh-ah-luh]

noun

1. a sluggish, tailless, gray, furry, arboreal marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, of Australia.

koala

/ kəʊˈɑːlə /

noun

1. Also called (Austral): native bear. a slow-moving Australian arboreal marsupial, Phascolarctus cinereus, having dense greyish fur and feeding on eucalyptus leaves and bark

Word History and Origins

Origin of koala¹

1800–10; erroneous spelling for earlier koola ( h ) (now obsolete) < Dharuk gú-la

Word History and Origins

Origin of koala¹

from a native Australian language

Example Sentences

“Think how you’ll grieve for all you’ll leave behind,” she sings to a herd of otters, koalas, flamingos, giraffes, bunnies and kangaroos fleeing Oz for the safety of the Yellow Brick Underground Railroad.

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It is estimated it will protect more than 12,000 koalas as well as provide a habitat for more than 100 other threatened species.

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When she appears to Karsh to deliver some bad news as a koala bear, he politely asks her to stop playing around.

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Enveloped by rainforest on Queensland's Gold Coast, the park is full of koalas like this.

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Blink, and a friend’s little bundle of semi-consciousness has grown to the size of a koala.

Read more on New York Times