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mulga

American  
[muhl-guh] / ˈmʌl gə /

noun

  • mulgas,
    plural
  • mulga
    plural
  1. an Australian shrub or small tree, Acacia aneura, forming dense growths in some areas and having foliage used as forage for livestock.

  2. an object, as an Aboriginal shield or club, made from the wood of this tree.


mulga British  
/ ˈmʌlɡə /

noun

  1. any of various Australian acacia shrubs, esp Acacia aneura, which grows in the central desert regions and has leaflike leafstalks

  2. scrub comprised of a dense growth of acacia

  3. the outback; bush

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of mulga

First recorded in 1830–40; from Yuwaalaraay (an Australian Aboriginal language spoken near Lightning Ridge, northern New South Wales) malga


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Much of the region's vegetation consists of grasses, saltbush, and mulga, a slow-growing evergreen tree capable of surviving in dry conditions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

The venom of the mulga snake is not as toxic as in some other Australian snake species, but is produced in very large quantities.

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2016

Mr Peters had just finished urinating when the mulga snake struck his ankle.

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2016

Growing up, Namatjira made sketches of scenes around him and later made images for mulga wood plaques.

From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2013

The back country was sandy, having kangaroo-grass upon it and wooded with broad-leaved box, broad-leaved ironbark, bloodwood, and mulga.

From Journal of Landsborough's Expedition from Carpentaria In search of Burke and Wills by William Landsborough

It passed over the mulgas, making them sigh and moan, and then was gone again, leaving the same breathless stillness.

From In the Musgrave Ranges by Conrad H. (Conrad Harvey) Sayce

Not a leaf moved on any of the scraggy mulgas standing near.

From In the Musgrave Ranges by Conrad H. (Conrad Harvey) Sayce

It was some weeks after he had started out from Tumurti with the old horse that Boss Stobart had found him perishing in a clump of mulgas.

From In the Musgrave Ranges by Conrad H. (Conrad Harvey) Sayce

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