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Synonyms

outback

American  
[out-bak, out-bak] / ˈaʊtˌbæk, ˈaʊtˈbæk /

noun

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

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. the remote bush country of Australia

    2. ( as modifier )

      outback life
"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

Etymology

Origin of outback

First recorded in 1875–80; out + back 2

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.

As I step out into this next phase of life, I do sometimes find myself missing the chaos of Hanoi or the wide-open spaces of the Australian outback.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

Police say they launched the largest search in the history of South Australia when four-year-old Gus Lamont was reported missing in late September from his family's Oak Park Station in the outback north of Adelaide.

From Barron's • Feb. 7, 2026

Breanna, her older sister Olivia and younger brother Jacob all did remote classes for children in the outback who are unable to attend a physical school.

From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025

Get Me Out of Here! kicks off on Sunday night, with former Lioness Alex Scott, TV personality Jack Osbourne and comedian Ruby Wax among those being dumped in the middle of the Australian outback.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025

On the third anniversary of the Shoemaker-Levy impact, he and his wife were in the Australian outback, where they went every year to search for impact sites.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.