wombat

[wom-bat]

See more synonyms for wombat on Thesaurus.com

noun

any of several stocky, burrowing, herbivorous marsupials of the family Vombatidae, of Australia, about the size of a badger.

Origin of wombat

First recorded in 1790–1800, wombat is from the Dharuk word wom-bat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for wombat

wombat, koala, kangaroo, possum, opossum, wallaby, bandicoot, euro, bar, thud, X, fred, waldo, whatchamacallit

Examples from the Web for wombat

Historical Examples of wombat

The wombat is an herbivorous animal, which burrows in the ground like a badger.
In Search of the Castaways
Jules Verne
The Possum turned pale and the Wombat hastily got behind him.
The Magic Pudding
Norman Lindsay
They are now represented only by the Australian wombat (Phascolomys).
The History of Creation, Vol. II (of 2)
Ernst Haeckel
Not a cigar was left, but there was the skeleton of the wombat.
The Life of James McNeill Whistler
Elizabeth Robins Pennell
Days passed, weeks passed, months passed, and there was no wombat.
The Life of James McNeill Whistler
Elizabeth Robins Pennell

British Dictionary definitions for wombat

wombat

noun

any of various burrowing herbivorous Australian marsupials, esp Vombatus ursinus, constituting the family Vombatidae and having short limbs, a heavy body, and coarse dense fur

Word Origin for wombat

C18: 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

Word Origin and History for wombat

marsupial mammal of Australia, 1798, from aboriginal Australian womback, wombar.