koala

[ koh-ah-luh ]

/ koʊˈɑ lə /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR koala ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

Nearby words

Origin of koala

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for koala

"Because they live in the same tree of course," said the Koala.
Dot and the Kangaroo|Ethel C. Pedley
The Koala was evidently very pleased with this accomplishment.
Dot and the Kangaroo|Ethel C. Pedley
A terrible hullabaloo between a pair of Opossums up a neighbouring gum tree arrested the attention of both Dot and the Koala.
Dot and the Kangaroo|Ethel C. Pedley
Mr. Aflalo remarks of it that though provided with a prehensile tail, it is little better as a climber than the tailless Koala.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard

In the koala (Australian native bear), a vegetable-feeding marsupial, it is more than thrice the size of the body.
Degeneracy|Eugene S. Talbot

British Dictionary definitions for koala

koala

koala bear

/ (kəʊˈɑːlə) /

noun

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

Word Origin for koala

from a native Australian language

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

Word Origin and History for koala