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

knussen, knut, knäckebröd, ko, koa, koala, koan, koap, kob, kobarid, kobe

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

koala

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of koala

Examples from the Web for koala

British Dictionary definitions for koala

koala

koala bear

noun

Word Origin for koala