koala

American  

[koh-ah-luh] / koʊˈɑ lə /

noun

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

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koala British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of koala

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

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.

From Los Angeles Times

The vaccine's approval by Australian regulators is based on a decade-long study of clinical trials, which the university described as the largest and longest ever study of wild koalas.

From BBC

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

From Salon

So far only three of the vaccinated koalas in this research trial have contracted the disease, though all recovered, and encouragingly, more than two dozen joeys have been born - bucking the infertility trend.

From BBC

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

From New York Times