outback

American  

[aut-bak, aut-bak] / ˈaʊtˌbæk, ˈaʊtˈbæk /

noun

• outbacks
  plural

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) Usually the outback the back country or remote settlements; the bush.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or located in the back country.

   outback settlements.

adverb

1. in or to the back country.

   They moved outback many years ago.

outback British  

/ ˈaʊtˌbæk /

noun

1. 1. the remote bush country of Australia

   2. ( as modifier )

      outback life

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• outbacks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of outback

First recorded in 1875–80; out + back ²

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Explanation

In Australia, the outback is the remote, rural region where far more animals than humans live. If you travel to the outback, you may see kangaroos, dingoes, and emus. Some people think of the outback as a vast, dusty, red desert, but it actually contains many different ecosystems, including savannahs, mountain ranges, and woodlands. Although it makes up the majority of Australia's land mass (about 80 percent), the outback is sparsely populated. Indigenous Australians have lived in this part of the country for at least 50,000 years. Outback was coined in the late 19th century from the phrase "out in the back country."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

outback outbacks

While its telescopes continued scanning the distant universe, unusually generous winter rains brought the surrounding outback to life in a brilliant display of wildflowers.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

This remote stretch of the Australian outback is an important grazing area for sheep and cattle, with a landscape typically dominated by hardy plants adapted to limited rainfall.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

She managed to escape by hiding in outback scrub for several hours before she was able to wave down two men driving a truck.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Camels in the outback compete with stock for food, destroy fences, foul waterholes and damage Indigenous cultural sites, authorities say.

From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026

“Oh, they’re all over the outback of Ethiopia,” Inkling says.

From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins

He’s read the great classics as well — Chaucer, for example — and is amused that people living in rural outbacks didn’t spend their college years in Middle English seminars.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2015

Several trouble spots remain, but hundreds of families are returning to their lands in seven newly declared zones of "total pacification" in the outbacks.

From Time Magazine Archive

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